Heaven and Earth
by Known-as-the-Influence
Summary: An AU taking place around the fated time of WWII with Phoenix and Trucy thrown in a Gavin-run concentration camp, Machi and a misplaced Daryan trying to survive the Borginian Revolution, and three young men trying to escape the war and their fate in Paris
1. Part 1

AN:

A Phoenix Wright AU taking place around the fated time of WWII with Phoenix and Trucy thrown in a Gavin-run concentration camp, Machi and a misplaced Daryan trying to survive the Borginian Revolution, and three young men trying to escape the war in Paris, but unable to escape their troubles.

Phoenix/OC and Daryan/Machi

* *words inside these are in Borginian*

*********

Trucy Wright blinked slowly, unsure of what was going on. She only remembered being taken away by her daddy, separated from him and then knocked unconscious by the butt of a soldier's gun. The train had been moving for a while until she was nudged back to consciousness by one of the guards the moment it stopped. He spoke sharply to her in a language she didn't understand, but she sat up and looked out toward the opening of the car, following the rest of the teenagers her age and tried to look around for any sign of her father until she saw him in a line not far from her.

Despite the look of silent defiance and the lack of a beanie, she recognized him from a mile away.

"Daddy! Daddy! It's me! Your Trucy!" she called eagerly, waving toward him and shouting loudly.

Phoenix looked up from his own chain and saw Trucy waving and shouting. He smiled, thankful she was not hurt, and waved back at her wearily. He noticed the uniformed men glaring at the lines and he opened his mouth to tell Trucy to be careful and quiet down but his voice was hoarse and made almost no sound.

"Ruhe!" Kristoph Gavin turned and shot nonchalantly at the ground before Trucy's feet. He kept his gun in his white gloved hand for a moment before tucking it back into its holster. He adjusted the sleeves of his uniform and his hat, his golden hair falling proudly into a drill. He pushed up his glasses and watched the lines carefully, making sure there was no disturbances.

A soft yelp came from the girl as she saw and heard the gunshot, nearly jumping, but she walked ahead and followed the rest of the teenagers into a small room, Trucy taking the bed nearest to the blocked window. At the orders of the guard, all of them curled up into their beds and began to sleep, given orders to prepare to work as soon as dawn hit.

Meanwhile, having heard of her brother's trigger finger, a woman with blond hair walked through the lines, her own blue eyes narrowed toward him as she shoved the black-haired man that had been the one called out toward by the young girl whose feet Kristoph had shot toward. She kept her own gun at the ready, holding it in one hand as the other shoved at the man's shoulder.

Phoenix moved to run at the blond when he raised his gun but was stopped by the chains. Relieved to see Trucy okay, he followed his line into his bunk and took one of the beds near the back corner.

Kristoph stumbled back one step and drew his gun, finding the cold friend extremely helpful these days. He pointed it stiffly at his sister's chest and narrowed his eyes.

"Was?"

"Sie würden Ihre eigene Schwester schießen?" The voice was strangely cold despite the mild smile on Liese's face, nudging his gun away from her. "Sie werden Kinder nicht schießen." She shook her head and headed for her own private quarters, stroking a hand through her hair.

Kristoph scoffed lightly and tucked his gun away again. "Ich würden Ihre eigene Schwester schießen aber falls ich einen hätte..." He breathed before fixing the sleeve of his uniform again.

Klavier had heard the familiar voices and walked over, purposely intersecting Liese's path.

"Was ist los, Schwester?" He took the cigarette from his lips and put his other hand on his hip. Klavier had decided to refuse wearing a jacket unless he absolutely needed to, so he was in the green uniform pants and a black tank top.

"Das, Bruder." Liese plucked the cigarette between his fingers and threw it down, stepping on it with a firm boot and began heading inside her quarters, giving Klavier's shoulder a quick pat and shook her head at Kristoph.

*********

Daryan leaned back in his chair and sighed angrily at himself, raising a hand to rub between his eyes.

"*More coffee?*" One waitress clutched the handle to the coffeepot and watched the man warily. He was dressed in uniform for the U.S. military, though only a handful of Canadian peacekeepers had gone to Borginia to sort out the problem with the rebels and protests in the streets.

Daryan had, unfortunately, been put on the wrong flight and was a while away from his proper destination. Great. He'd be "missing in action" and his parents would just go to the funeral for the finger sandwiches.

"*Yeah.*" Daryan nodded, having learned basic Borginian as well as a few insults and sentences to explain himself.

The waitress quickly filled Daryan's cup and scurried off to another table.

A few moments later, a young teenager with blond hair, blue eyes blocked by a pair of sunglasses, and lacy clothes began playing the piano in the small restaurant, having memorized his favorite piece by heart. Unlike most boys, Machi wasn't going to lie about his age to fight in some foolish war. If he would die, he'd die doing what he did best: playing piano. His eyes closed and he kept playing the piece slowly, breathing easily as he played.

Daryan sighed, a little less upset as he heard the piano, and sat up straight. At least Borginia wasn't too unlike home. Dirt coffee, fights in the street outside his window, cute kid playing piano...

Well, at home it was usually his little sister playing the piano, but the blond kid at the ivories was a little more relaxing. He took a sip of coffee and looked over his papers, trying to figure out how in hell he could get all the way up to the UK from this place.

Machi received the scant applause for his piece, deciding to use the little money he had to get a cup of coffee, then looked around for a place to go. Unfortunately, some of the draft dodgers were looking to cause trouble and one stuck his leg out to make the boy trip and spill all of his coffee on the filth-covered floor. Thankfully, there wasn't anything broken or Machi would have had to pay for the broken ceramic as well.

"*Wow, kid, you should stick to pianos,*" the man patronized, causing the others to laugh.

Daryan frowned at the troublemakers and stood to walk over to the table.

"*Hey, fucktard,*" He snapped his left hand in front of the guy to grab his attention and in one swift motion, he slammed his right hand against his head which hit the table. He stepped back and helped the blond kid up, watching the table with the slightest smirk in his eyes. He knew he wasn't supposed to do anything that might slander the American Army, but it's not like Borginians liked them anyways.

"*Why did you help me?*" Machi asked, both a little hostile and a bit nervous around the man that had helped him. Being an orphan, a runaway orphan, didn't help with trust issues, especially if the people seemed to help him. "I don't have anything."

Daryan lead the kid over to his table and sat down, nodding at the other chair for him.

"*I don't want anything.*" Daryan shrugged and looked for the waitress. "*That guy was an ass. Justice is served. Whatever.*" He tapped the table in front of Machi, glancing at the waitress as if to tell him to order something.

"*Would you like something?*" the waitress asked, sounding forced as she looked at the boy and watched him sit down at the table in a sort of daze.

"*Coffee,*" Machi said, continuing to look at Daryan. He was used to being treated lowly being a teenager and an orphan, fiddling with his hands a little and glancing down at them nervously. "*You're a soldier? From America?*"

"*Yep. Wasn't supposed to come here, though... Flights messed up.*" He shrugged and took another sip of his coffee, watching the waitress pour the boy a cup.

"... Daryan Crescend." He held his hand out to the blond kid with a small smile.

"...Machi Tobaye." The boy shook Daryan's rough hand with his own softer hand, returning the small smile with one of his own. "I...I speaking English...no good, but...I speaking..."

Daryan smiled and took another sip of his coffee. "Indeed you do..." Perhaps this mix up wouldn't be so horrible after all.

*********

For once, it was actually nice and sultry in Paris and it reminded Ramon Mendez of Valencia, remembering when he had been dropped off by his brother a year ago so that he wouldn't have to fight in the war, worrying for the youngest Mendez sibling. Someone had to carry on the Mendez name, even it it was the homosexual Ramon. He began wandering the streets, looking around for a place to go until he eyed a rather comfortable cafe and sat down at a table across from two men, noticing the similarities between them.

Twins...

"Hola," Ramon muttered dryly, managing to use his limited French to order a cup of milk.

"Salut, chérie." Diederich smiled languidly and swirled his wine in his glass. "Tu viens d'Espagne?" He noticed the difference in language and glanced at Dimitri. "Espagne participe dans la guerre contre les nazis, non?" He asked, wondering why a Spaniard would be in France during a war - particularly a man.

Dimitri nodded, drinking from his own wine, but he wasn't as surprised as Diederich was. He was native to Russia, having escaped to Paris to find his brother after his mother was sent to Siberia for defying Stalinist rule. Thankfully, he and his sister had found Dimitri's twin brother and stayed with him while Yuri recovered from a nasty case of tuberculosis, managing to find medicines to treat it and she was going to recover fully from it.

"You come from Spain, da?" he asked Ramon, who nodded and kept sipping his milk.

"My brother dropped me off last year while he went off to fight," he said casually.

"Et comment va-t'il?" Diederich took a sip of his wine and smiled at the Spaniard. "How is he?" He translated. The war was horrible and Diederich much preferred sitting on the sidelines and drinking wine while the world dropped dead than participating in the slaughter.

"Dunno. He's probably saving lives or something." Ramon shook his head, drinking his milk and glancing upward a little. "Of course, my hermano is more of a lazy bastard than a lifesaver." He laughed dryly, finishing the milk and decided to order up some wine to match with the twins.

"Same with mine," Dimitri said, playing with Diederich's hair a little, but he smiled coolly.

Diederich laughed a little and shoved Dimitri playfully. "Excusez moi, but I'd much rather be drinking Merlot here than killing supposedly guilty people there." He sipped his wine and shook his head, "I don't see the appeal."

"You don't see the appeal in anything if it involves anything with clothes," Dimitri said wryly, shaking his head and looking toward Ramon as the Spaniard sipped his wine. "Sorry for this...uh..."

"Ramon. Ramon Mendez." The dark-haired younger man extended his hand and shook Dimitri's.

"Dimitri. That's my brother Diederich. We're twins, sadly, and I've had to take care of him and our little sister." Ramon shrugged a bit, not caring much about hearing females.

Diederich smirked at Dimitri and kicked him under the table before looking at Ramón.

"Though it is my place." He reminded his brother with a light shrug. "Ungrateful siblings, ouais?" He winked and kicked Dimitri playfully again.

Ramon smirked a bit and let out a dry laugh, watching the twins interact with each other and it brought an identical smirk to Dimitri's face as he moved to play with Ramon and Diederich's hair.

"I'm not ungrateful. Ungrateful ones are mean...and I'm not a mean guy..."

*********

Phoenix was woken at an abnormally early time by a surprisingly loud bugle. He stumbled into the line of other men, glaring down at his chains and silently praying Trucy was well.

He followed the men to the excavating site where they had to mine the rocks. He forced himself to work, though it was painful to even lift his arms eventually, and only hoped this would be as simple as getting off on good behavior.

Liese began walking around the excavation site, having been assigned there for the day and she began pacing slowly to keep an eye on all the men. Just because she was a woman, however, didn't mean she would take it easy on them. She noticed a black-haired man slacking off a little and nudged his shoulder with the butt of her gun, lifting up a blond eyebrow.

"Hey. Wake up. I'm not going to coddle you. If you didn't sleep enough, it's your own fault," she said strictly, continuing to prod at him.

"Personally, I blame the bugle boy for waking us up at three in the morning." Phoenix mumbled under his breath and tried to act as if he was working harder. Phoenix was a strong guy but working like this for a few hours had already tired him out.

Liese knew that Kristoph was the type to whip the prisoners until they were bleeding raw, but she wasn't that much of a sadist and just hit Phoenix's lower back with her gun, making sure not to set it off since she didn't want to make him a cripple. A strong man like that would be a good worker...and those blue eyes looked better pained than cold.

Phoenix groaned quietly and continued working, glancing back at Liese just long enough to catch her eyes. He never really looked into the eyes of any of the Germans holding them but hers were entrancing. Too bad she would kill him if he even thought about her.

"Let what I've done be constituted as a warning. Any more backtalking and I'll give whoever decided to speak their tongue...literally," Liese threatened with a soft voice, moving toward the small watchtower to keep an eye on all of them, but she found her gaze moving toward Phoenix and put on a pair of mirrored sunglasses to keep her eyes from burning at the sight of the rising sun.

Phoenix followed the majority of the other workers in taking off the shirts of their dreary gray uniforms to work now that the sun rose. The dark-haired man smiled a little at the watchtower she was perched on before returning to his work. In the sun his back sweat and tanned, the man rather surprised he could get a tan here of all places.

Liese let out a slightly strained noise at the sight of the shirtless man, particularly Phoenix, and she held back on trying not to demand that the man be taken somewhere private to ravish that body of his...she shook her head at the thought and kept her gaze impassive and impersonal, absently remembering seeing a girl that called him "Daddy." She hoped that the girl was just as strong as her father...it would be a shame to have heard that the girl was dead already...

Phoenix continued to work, taking a moment every now and then to glance up at the officer watching them. He noticed she had been clutching the arm of her chair for a moment and Phoenix simply smirked. This was a concentration camp... not a dating service. It was hard to even think about it, but Phoenix decided it might be in his best interests to keep the woman happy... Maybe he could see Trucy.

"Schwester!" Klavier sprinted over to the excavation site and hopped onto the side of the large chair, gripping the arm to keep himself from falling.

"Kristoph peitsche das Kinder. Sie nicht hörten ich zu." He was a little upset, knowing Liese had told Kristoph to stay away from the children. He was actually pretty sure the elder assigned himself to watch that group just to bother Liese.

"Was!?" Liese growled softly and cursed Kristoph's name under her breath. "Wenn er es wieder tut, übernehmen Sie." That was all she would say, giving Klavier's shoulder another pat before he was ordered off of the watchtower, Liese making sure he got down carefully.

Phoenix stopped working for a minute, having heard what Klavier said. Kinder sounded something like children... and Kristoph was the man who shot at Trucy...

"What's happening?" He asked, looking straight at Liese and Klavier despite the horrible whipping he'd probably get.

Klavier sighed and hopped down. "Als ob er tun lassen." He looked at the prisoner and frowned as he addressed them. "Ruhe. Zurückkommen zu Arbeit." He commanded, folding his arms. Troublemakers were never good...

Now he was beginning to show disobedience...the sign she'd been looking for. Liese jumped down and looked at Klavier only once, her head jerking toward the watchtower as she pulled Phoenix off toward the section filled with several sheds. Most of them were used for chemical euthanasia, but she had no intention of doing that to him and simply shoved Phoenix against the wall.

"You're terrible at keeping your mouth shut, ja?" she asked coolly.

Klavier frowned in confusion - Liese was just as brutal as Kristoph if she was about to kill the prisoner for talking. However, the siblings were very unlike each other and he couldn't disobey either so he hopped onto the chair and watched the men work.

Phoenix smirked, also rather glad he had spoken up. "Only if it gets me the girl."

"Dummkopf." That man was such a smartass, but Liese removed her mirrored sunglasses, placing the long metal of the frame along her lips, nipping it a little as she smirked. She tucked them in her pocket and placed her hands on Phoenix's bare shoulders to keep him pressed against the wall. "You would speak to your leader like that?"

Phoenix chuckled and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her a little closer. "If my leader looked like you. 'Sides, you don't seem to mind." He grinned and bent his head forwards to catch her lips with his.

Liese almost purred at the sound, moving closer to Phoenix and kissing him in return despite this forbidden angle...everything about this was entirely forbidden, dirty, and wrong...but maybe that was what made it feel good. She tensed when she thought she heard a few voices, then managed to drag him into the nearest shed that didn't have the chemical smell to continue this little fun that she was having.

Phoenix smirked and switched positions, now pressing her against the inside wall. He started to fumble with the buttons of Liese's jacket though his fingers had lost a little dexterity from the painful working. He continued to kiss Liese, groaning softly and smiling a little.

The position switch surprised Liese, having never felt this kind of domination before by anyone male or female, but she did shove aside her jacket to the floor and reached over to take greedy handfuls of Phoenix's ass above his gray pants. She licked her lips and smirked, liking the whole requirement of the prisoners being forced to wear only the gray shirts and pants with nothing else underneath. It was supposed to be to keep it simple when they died or got killed and to reuse the uniforms, but Liese started to like the idea that they were just there for her to get easy access.

Phoenix massaged her breasts for a moment before moving his hands to her pants. He was also beginning to like the prison uniforms as he pressed closer to Liese and finally undid her pants.

Liese bit her lower lip eagerly, letting her hips move a little to get her pants down before yanking Phoenix's down quickly, blue eyes lazing as she gave him a once-over with her eyes and a bit of her hand, cupping and squeezing in what seemed to be professionalism. She licked her lips before kissing his, biting down just a little to make it a little rougher despite it being her first time.

Phoenix smirked a little, realizing she wanted it rougher. It made sense. He lowered his hand to push a finger into her, deciding not to make it uncomfortably dry. She was already a little wet, though, and Phoenix could only grin as he kissed her roughly.

"Mmph!" She made the slightest noise to signify the brief surprise of being invaded, her hips wiggling to take in more of that finger, wondering if he had more to give than just his finger. If he gave her his cock, it'd be a lot better in her opinion, but Liese just let Phoenix go at his own pace. He was the one who had the daughter, after all, so he had to have done this at least once.

Phoenix grinned at the sound and continued to move his finger before finally pulling it out. He positioned himself and pushed inside slowly, kissing her hard and making a quiet noise as he felt just how tight she was. It was quite possibly her first time and he made sure his thrusts were careful and slow at first.

To her surprise, Liese didn't scream when their lips parted, letting out only a breathy sound as one hand clawed into the wall, the other tangled in Phoenix's hair to pull him down for another kiss. As the pain eased, her own hips began to thrust toward his, not caring if it would be short as long as she had him here and now...and any other time he decided to be a smartass.

Phoenix started to speed up a little, matching her thrusts then overpowering them. He panted and kissed her again, ignoring how this shouldn't be arousing and just slamming into the blonde, gripping her shoulders and groaning softly. He was close and fuck it was so good...

"Ah...I'll have to keep you...for longer..." Liese vowed, biting down on his lower lip a little and moaning against his mouth, hot panting expelling onto Phoenix's lips and skin as she felt herself getting closer...closer...and then it hit her and she shrieked as she came, her body shuddering and shaking from the pure ecstasy of the act. The idea had been so arousing that it only made the actual thing even better than she thought.

"Ngh!" Phoenix gasped and clutched Liese close as he came, spurred on by her own climax. He swore breathlessly and kissed Liese's neck, panting and closing his eyes as he shivered.

"D-damnit..." he kissed Liese again, almost unable to catch her lips. He was almost entirely spent, the situation making the sex far greater than he thought it could be.

For several minutes, Liese caught her breath and slowly got dressed, kissing Phoenix hungrily as he panted before helping him get his pants on. He still looked to be recovering, so she decided to put him in the sick bay and claimed him to be exhausted from the heat, ordering him to rest and be put on a strict diet of fluids before going back over to the excavating site to tell Klavier he was relieved of his duty. As she watched the men, her mind reeled from what had happened, feeling her heartbeat picking up in its pace.

It won't happen again...it can't...

*********

"So," Daryan strolled down the street beside Machi, his hands behind his back as they passed a protest with one of the teen rebels preaching to the group.

"I haven't been told much about Borginia..." Really, he only knew there were problems in it. He wondered how such a breakable doll as Machi could even get by.

"Ah." Machi glanced toward the protest groups and shook his head a little. "Not much needing to know. Some fighting away...some fighting here..." By "fighting," he meant protesting, and he would be kept awake at night when the rebellions got violent. He was lucky to have been able to live his life without being close to getting hurt and just kept walking until they reached an abandoned building, the teenager pushing it open and revealing a large room filled with a finely tuned grand piano, a large pallet for sleeping, and an oil lamp kept full with a large can full of some sort of oil located on the table.

Daryan looked around the room and leaned back on his heels. "You live here?" It barely looked livable, despite the bed and piano. He looked at Machi with a small amount of pity for him for a moment. The kid shouldn't be alone and caring for himself. He needed parents and a warm place... But in Borginia, this room was a little bigger than average size. It was an upsetting fact and Daryan just nodded.

"Do you like it here?"

"...No." Machi couldn't help his honesty as he looked at Daryan, turning on the lamp carefully and rubbing his hands carefully together as he waited for it to warm up. He didn't look down about his choice, however, and just kept waiting for the lamp to turn on, his expression not changing as he gave Daryan the smallest hint of a smile. "You being cold? You taking bed. I sleeping somewhere."

Daryan smiled and shook his head. He pulled his pack off his shoulder and unpacked a warm blanket and a cot.

"You take the bed, kid." He draped the thick blanket over Machi's bed and set up the cot easily. The nights got cold in Borginia and Daryan didn't want the kid suffering when he had a blanket himself.

"But you being...first friend." He had meant to say "guest," but Machi's English wasn't good enough to distinguish between the terms, though both of them were very much the truth. Daryan was the first friend (or the closest thing to a friend) he had ever had, especially since this was the first time he invited anyone to his little "home." Machi didn't know much about hospitality, never having been shown it, but there was some sort of rule about guests always being treated better than the host. "You...You taking good blanket..."

Daryan tilted his head to the side for a moment. First friend? He shook his head again and knelt in front of Machi, holding the thick blanket.

"And you, Machi..." Daryan wrapped his arms around Machi then pulled back, the blanket now around the blond. "Are my new friend." He smiled and draped it over Machi's shoulders. "If I was in the right place I'd be sleeping in a mud pile for two hours before my watch shift. A cot will be perfect and it will be even better if I know my friend is warm." He smiled and kissed Machi's lips in the way he'd kiss his sister, thinking almost nothing of it.

Machi's pale face flushed red from the kiss, his smile wider than ever as he reached down to bring up the much thinner blanket he often used to sleep at night, reaching up slightly to drape it over Daryan's shoulders like the older man had done to him.

"My friend being warm, too," he replied, moving to give Daryan's lips an innocent peck, repeating the gesture before taking off his sunglasses and showing his eyes, a gorgeous shade of clear blue that even the Borginian skies couldn't rival, especially since they were always so cloudy.

Daryan smiled and tilted his head to the side lightly. The kid's eyes were absolutely beautiful.

"Thanks." He smiled and hugged Machi tight. This trip... it was becoming such a wonderful mix up.

"Now get to sleep... it's late." He murmured, still hugging the boy.

"Mm-hmm." Machi adjusted the cot and the pallet so that they were resting side-by-side, not wanting to be separated from his only friend for even a minute, even if he had to sleep. He laid down on the pallet and turned onto his side, glancing toward Daryan to see what he thought of this.

Daryan smiled at the boy and lay down on his cot, turning to smile at Machi.

"You happy?" He asked softly, reaching out to brush the hair from the blond's face.

"Yes." Machi said this with confidence and moved over to give Daryan's lips one more kiss, then gripped onto his hand tightly to fall asleep a lot quicker than he thought he would.

*********

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked, looking toward his pale sister as she sat in bed, reading a book. The young woman coughed a little, looking down at her hand and smiling when she revealed that her hand was clean.

"No blood," she said, her smile widening toward Dimitri as she went back to reading her book. Dimitri just smiled, not able to hug her yet since there was still the possibility that she was contagious despite her recovery, and went back to Diederich as he waited in the living room. "She's not coughing up blood anymore."

Diederich looked up at Dimitri and sighed in relief. "Bon... I'm glad she's getting better." He ran a hand through his hair. "How long do you think until she's better?" He asked softly, missing his little sister.

"I'd say...at the way she is now...she should be fully recovered in two weeks." Dimitri was estimating this with his limited experience in the medical field. He and Diederich could still remember how it had felt to have Yuri constantly coughing up blood, turning her onto her side so she wouldn't choke on her bloody sputum, keeping her airway clear until the antibiotics took effect when they had managed to obtain them. "Come on. We're supposed to meet Ramon at the cafe again." The elder twin led the younger outside, giving the maid strict orders to keep an eye on Yuri if she'd gone into a coughing fit before shutting the door.

Long before the twins had arrived, the Spaniard was already inside, trying to escape from the sultry and unseasonable weather going through the peaceful city. It was early, but he was already on his second glass of port, having grown fond of the drink since the twins had introduced it to him. Ramon would have laughed at the irony of having to escape from a war and now the weather, but he just laid his chin on his forearm and kept waiting for the twins.

Diederich followed Dimitri to the café and put on his regular almost whorish attitude when he saw the Spaniard.

"Hola, chérie." He winked and slid into the seat next to him. "How is the wine?" He glanced around, hoping for a waiter. He hadn't drunk any wine since yesterday and the news about Yuri was something to celebrate instead of drink away.

"Delicious, amigo." Ramon smirked a bit at the flirting from Diederich and shook both twins' hands, ordering a glass of wine for the two of them since they seemed to be in a good mood.

"This is perfect," Dimitri said, mildly pleased as he looked toward Ramon and Diederich, lifting up his wine. He smiled toward Diederich, deciding to keep why they were celebrating a secret and just lifted his glass, the three of them having a quick toast before drinking their wine again.

"Mm, today is a wonderful day, chérie," Diederich swirled the wine in his glass and took a sip. "How are you enjoying it?" He smiled at Ramón and, under the table, rubbed his foot along the Spaniard's leg.

"Just getting a drink." Ramon wasn't sure what got the twins in such a good mood, especially when he felt that foot along his leg, but he didn't care. He kind of liked having the twins in a good mood and just kept sipping his wine with a lazed expression in his eyes as he smirked. Dimitri silently sipped his wine and watched the exchange between his twin and the Spaniard, talking softly under his breath until it got louder.

"...and we do not deserve to live in a life where we are told to do by someone else rather than ourselves. We are our own people, dammit, and we are to live like we are the only ones who matter. Can that fool Stalin understand that all we want is our freedom of expression, to be our own man?" The Russian man had a tendency to get philosophical when he drank and he continued to rant and rave as he drank more wine.

Diederich smiled and took another sip of his wine. He paused when he heard his brother and laughed a little. Dimitri could've been a philosopher if he went to school drunk. He put a hand on Ramón's thigh and shook his head.

"Don't mind him, chérie." He squeezed Ramón's leg and winked before taking another sip.

His depression hit when Yuri was sick. Diederich wasn't able to flirt very well since she was coughing up blood but finally she was getting better and Diederich needed to catch up on what he might've missed. So, like a horny teenager, he shot for the man closest to them at the moment and he kept his hand on the Spaniard's thigh as he drank.

"Mind who?" Ramon murmured aloud, feeling far more than just a little drunk as he glanced toward Diederich, his dark eyes lazed as he let out a few soft whispers in Spanish toward his ear, trying to signify what it would be nice to do with him, but of course, it was likely he didn't understand. Ah, well. He went back to the wine and sipped it, liking the hand on his thigh more and more with each sip.

Diederich grinned and caught a few words but otherwise couldn't tell exactly what he was saying. Either way, it sounded nice. He downed the last mouthful of wine in his glass and flipped over to sit on Ramón's lap, straddling the Spaniard. He cupped Ramón's jaw and kissed him lazily before pulling away a little and smirking.

Dimitri was still babbling away in Russian, his head resting on his arms and nearly dead to the world, while Ramon simply smirked back and pulled Diederich back for another kiss, keeping his lips there for a good long time without bothering to pay attention to the babbling older twin. He moved to grip onto Diederich's dark hair with one hand, the other playing along his thigh sensually.

Diederich moaned and wrapped his arms around Ramón's neck, grinding his hips against the Spaniard's. He parted his lips almost whorishly and moaned softly again, remembering why he was such a whore towards people. This felt wonderful.

Ramon sighed, his tongue darting out to play with Diederich's as he held the whorish man's hips, guiding him along all the right areas that the cynical Spaniard preferred. This was almost too painfully arousing and he was beginning to be thankful that Diederich had gotten himself drunk enough to want to do this...he'd almost forgotten this would be in front of his brother until...

"Urk...!"

The Spaniard's arousal diminished slightly when he heard the gagging from the elder twin, followed by vomiting onto the floor as Dimitri coughed and gagged, losing his breakfast on the cafe floor.

Diederich shuddered at the sound and partly fell off Ramón's lap, his leg still across his.

"Mon Dieu, Dimitri..." Diederich laughed a little and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's get you home." He sighed a little and stood to take a napkin and wipe Dimitri's mouth clean. Diederich glanced back at Ramón and smiled, pulling him from his seat to kiss him. Really, Diederich took his alcohol well and it had only served to help him loosen up. He could walk straight, still.

"Shall we finish this in a warm bed, chérie?"

Ramon nodded toward Diederich, helping him escort Dimitri out of the cafe as he followed him toward the twins' place, setting Dimitri in his bed before following Diederich to the younger twin's own bedroom. Strange how this day turned from boring to good to mildly irritating to something even better.

For some strange reason, though, he thought he could hear someone coughing in the house...

*********

Phoenix splashed some water on his face and sighed, staring into the slightly chipped mirror. He and Liese had spent at least two hours in her bed and he ran a tired hand through his hair. He was thankful for this to happen - a beautiful woman keeping him from the ungodly work with sex - but he felt horribly guilty for being treated so well while the others were still out working. Especially his daughter. He returned to the bed and kissed along Liese's neck slowly.

"Hey... Liese..." he murmured, smiling at the tired woman.

"Mm?" Liese looked up at Phoenix, playing with his hair and lazing her blue eyes. There was something in his eyes that told her that he wanted to say something more meaningful than just a request for more sex. She sat up a little and touched Phoenix's cheek, looking at him and silently asking what he wanted to say.

Phoenix smiled, unable to keep a sad face around Liese despite what he was asking her for.

"My daughter is in this camp... She... I know I can't, but can you watch her for me?" He asked softly, worrying most for Trucy's safety, especially if the other blond officer was so upset and used Kristoph and Kinder - it had to mean children or something - in the same sentence.

"Ja...I will." Liese glanced at the clock and frowned, holding Phoenix close to bury her face in his broad shoulder, closing her eyes briefly and wishing time would just stop...but it couldn't and she got up to begin getting dressed in her uniform, knowing it was her turn for the night shift. "As soon as I get out of here...set the alarm and take a nap before getting out...I have to do guard duty tonight." She personally would rather spend the entire night with Phoenix, but things couldn't be helped, and she sat on the bed next to him after putting her boots on.

Phoenix sighed softly and nodded, also wishing they could just spend the night. He slid behind her and massaged her shoulders as she put on her boots. He lowered his lips to kiss her neck as his hands slowly traveled down to massage her lower back.

"Be careful." He warned lazily between kisses despite the fact she was the one with the gun.

"I will. You get some sleep and remember...get out of here in an hour." Liese almost forced him down to the bed, kissing Phoenix's lips dizzily until she forced herself away from him and headed outside to prepare for her shift outside the northern barracks.

Meanwhile, in the barracks, Trucy woke up when she heard a soft voice crying and whimpering, going down to the bunk below her to see a little boy only seven or eight crying and clutching himself protectively. He spoke in German, which she didn't understand except for Mama and Papa, and she knew that he was missing his parents. She wrapped her arms around him and kept assuring him in English that things will be all right, then remembered her own daddy and how he was being shoved by those guards.

"...Daddy," Trucy whispered softly, unable to stop the tears running down her face.

Kristoph's boots made a surprisingly quiet sound as he strolled along the rows of cabins. He heard crying and sighed, turning to the cabin on his left. It was one of the children's cabins... They must be homesick. How annoying.

Kristoph walked briskly to the door, his boots loud against the tough ground now as he opened the door and stepped in.

"Was ist los?" He asked, locating the source of the crying and walking over. He looked down at the two children, refusing to kneel for them.

"He...He misses his parents..." Trucy tried hard to rub at her eyes, but the little boy was clutching her tightly and she was unable to get her hands free between patting his back. "Please...can't he see them...just for a few minutes? He's been crying all week..." She wasn't sure if it had been a week, having lost track of time after two days.

Kristoph gave the pair a smile. "Of course. Was ist dein Familienname?" He asked the boy, taking a step back as if he was about to go find them.

"Sommer," the boy replied, looking up at Kristoph as if he were some sort of angel in a Nazi's disguise and Trucy smiled thankfully at him, hoping that he was kind enough to help that poor little boy. Maybe if he would do this, she could see her own daddy as well.

"Sommer." Kristoph repeated slowly. Wasn't that the man who was shot for disobedience? And the woman was terminally ill and they didn't want to take up a bed if she was going to die.

Kristoph liked knowing who exactly he shot as if it was some kind of mental trophy.

"Ja, sich sehen dein Eltern." Kristoph smiled and patted the boy's head. He took another step back, drew his gun and shot the boy square between the eyes.

As the boy fell to the floor, Trucy couldn't hold herself back anymore. She leaned her head back, letting out a strangled sob and moving back in the bunk until she saw the door open and a blond woman stepped in, the same one who had shoved her father that first day.

"Kristoph. Kommen Sie heraus und nehmen Sie diesen Körper mit Ihnen. Sie werden heute Abend getan." That was all she said as she looked at Kristoph, giving a cold gaze toward the entire room.

Kristoph glared at Liese and tucked his gun away. "Endlich." He growled before grasping the twitching boy by the hair and dragging him out. He dropped the corpse onto the ground just in front of the cabin and shot the boy in the head once more to make sure he was dead before returning to his quarters.

Trucy whimpered just a little, looking toward the woman that had managed to chase away that devil of a man away from the room, trying to thank her, but just went back to her bunk when the woman gave her an impassive look. When she fell asleep, Liese climbed up a little to look down and stroke the girl's hair briefly, keeping a note to tell Phoenix this before moving outside. Kristoph was gone and Klavier was over on the other end of the barracks, which left her mainly alone and she sighed a little, shaking her head and glancing back and forth.

Kristoph...you're going mad again, aren't you...?

Klavier jogged over and frowned, seeing Liese. "Ich hören Schuss..." he explained, glancing around. He noticed the kid off to the side of the door to the cabin and he covered his mouth with his hand.

"Liese... das Kinder..." He stared from the child to Liese, wondering if she had been the one to shoot him.

She shook her head when she saw Klavier looking at her, sighing when she realized that Kristoph had disobeyed her order to take the child to one of the settlements to be buried, then said a single word to Klavier:

"Kristoph."

*********

Machi whimpered in his sleep, trapped between reality and a fantasy that had him rushing through soldiers and protest groups to try and get at Daryan. He kept calling out his friend's name, trying to get him to turn back and failed to find him, getting lost in the crowd of protestors while the soldiers dragged Daryan away. The young teenager whimpered and squirmed in his sleep, wondering why he just couldn't wake up.

Daryan had been a light sleeper and he was always easily woken up for shifts, unlike the men who slept like logs and ended up missing their watch.

He opened one eye and saw Machi squirming and making noises as he seemed to try and escape... his dream?

Daryan slid out of his cot and sat down beside him. He thought about waking the boy but decided against it and slid under the thick blanket with him. He wrapped his arms around Machi and held him close, murmuring calming words into his ear.

The words and the warmth surrounding him pulled Machi out of his dream and he blinked several times, hearing Daryan murmuring in his ear as his hands grasped the back of the man's jacket.

"No leaving...please..." he whimpered softly.

Daryan glanced down and smiled lightly. "No leaving, kid. I promise." He bent his head and kissed the top of the boy's head gently.

"What you doing? You doing that before..." Machi glanced at Daryan in curiosity when their eyes met again, referring to those kisses from earlier. Much of the adult world had been understood to Machi early, but some things had just gone over his head...like the kisses, hugs, and kind touches. "I liking it..." He shook his head and just kept looking at Daryan with mild curiosity.

Daryan shifted a little and propped his head on his hand. He really wasn't sure why he kept kissing the little Borginian boy.

"I.. don't know." He shrugged a little, glad Machi didn't mind. "You're just cute." He shrugged again and looked away.

"Cute..." The word sounded a little foreign to the boy and he repeated it slowly under his breath until a balled up rag soaked in lighter fluid and set on fire crashed through the window. Machi cursed softly and began putting out the fire with a glass of water he'd kept by the pallet, then wrapped the rag up in an old curtain and tossed it out the window.

Daryan swore and stared as Machi acted far too routinely as he put out the fire and threw the rag away.

He ran to the window and looked down. Another protest group. Shit.

"Machi are you okay?" He asked, turning and taking one of the blond's hands.

"Is okay...is being normal," Machi insisted, shaking his head slowly and pulling himself defensively. "You no needing to worry." He sighed a little and wrung his hands nervously, feeling ashamed of himself for having Daryan worrying about him.

Daryan sighed and took both of Machi's hands in his again. "No, Machi, that isn't supposed to be normal. You're supposed to be in a safe, warm home with- I mean, what would've happened if you were still asleep when that came in?" He suddenly wondered what would've happened if that unfortunate scene played out. Machi would've been burned alive and-

He shook his head to return to Earth.

"I...I don't know..." Machi shook his head, trying hard not to cry as his arms wrapped around Daryan's waist, his face buried in the man's chest. He didn't want to imagined being hurt, having managed to spend three years avoiding all these riots from the protesters. "No one wanting me, anyway...so I having no home..."

Daryan hugged Machi and sighed quietly. "Sorry..." he didn't want to distress the boy. "I'm just worried for you..." he kissed the top of Machi's head, wondering if the boy really reminded him of his sister or if he really adored him.

"I promise on the next flight out of here you're coming with me." Daryan said firmly.

The teenager sighed softly, keeping his arms around Daryan before looking up at him wordlessly, unsure of what to say at the moment. He couldn't just thank him for taking him away...it wouldn't be enough...all he could do was keep his arms around his waist and just look at him. Machi lifted one arm and wiped his eyes a little with his fist, trying to stop the tears streaking down his face.

Daryan knelt and hugged Machi properly.

"Is that okay?" He asked slowly, unsure if Machi was happy with that. "Would you like that?" His home was Borginia and Daryan supposed he didn't want to take him away from that, despite the constant riots and all the protests.

"I...I liking...being with my friend," Machi said, his arms wrapping around Daryan's neck to kiss him on the cheek over and over.

"So do I." Daryan smiled and kissed Machi back. He made a note to look up flights to America - or even the UK - tomorrow. "It's late, kid. C'mon, get to sleep." He ushered Machi under the thick cover and joined him this time, deciding he could help keep away the nightmares.

"Good night, Machi."

*********

Diederich woke up and yawned, glancing around the room. It wasn't his...? Oh right, he drove Ramón home and ended up staying.

He looked beside him to see Ramón and he grinned, remembering everything that had happened last night. He kissed the Spaniard's cheek and got up, stretching, and got dressed quickly. He was used to leaving before they woke up... Somehow it made them feel less committed. He checked that he had everything and left a cute little note with a winking smiley and something about not wanting to wake him beside Ramón on the pillow before slipping out and returning home.

Ramon groaned a little and woke up when he heard a door shut, exhaling slowly when he realized that Diederich had left. Well, that was what whores did half the time, right? Leave when you're asleep? He shook his head and stumbled in the shower, feeling a slight tickle in his chest, but he shook it off and just finished washing his hair, fumbling for a towel on the rack and pulled it off to wrap around his waist. For some reason, it was a little disappointing to not have Diederich in the bed since he considered the twins his friends and after what Diederich did to him...damn, he was going to remember that all his life. The tickle in his chest moved and he coughed thickly in his hand, looking down when he tasted something metallic that didn't exactly belong.

For the first time, the Spaniard felt fear when he looked in his hand and saw the bloody sputum in his palm, knowing what that was. Ramon sat down on the bed and shook his head, unable to stop looking at his hand.

"Mierda..."


	2. Part 2

Kristoph adjusted the sleeve of his uniform as he walked briskly by the workers. He had finally figured out just what the prisoners could do with all this meaningless work. He slowed to watch Liese's station, becoming increasingly upset with her domination of Kristoph's decisions.

Liese kept an eye on all the men in her group, her gaze lingering toward Phoenix, of course. It had been getting warmer and they would go around in only their gray pants as they continued their excavating, preparing to strike whenever Phoenix had "fumbled" to take him back and get some well-deserved time alone. After that chaos with the child Kristoph had killed without reason two weeks ago, she'd been splitting much of her time trying to get updates on Kristoph while trying to get as much of Phoenix as possible.

Just a little longer...just one little slip...

It was obvious that what she and Phoenix had was more than a physical attraction, but he probably just kept seeing her as the evil bitch who kept him from his daughter and his freedom. She shook her head and tried to retain her professional nature, thankful that her sunglasses kept her eyes from view.

Phoenix was finally tired of working and noticed Liese seemed a little impatient. He decided to give in and he looked up from his work without reason to the man beside him.

"What'd you say?" Phoenix asked darkly. The man barely looked up before Phoenix punched him hard, making the man stumble back into his friend and cry out before lunging at Phoenix in retaliation.

Kristoph watched, his hands behind his back, and looked at Liese, waiting to see how she dealt with this.

Liese wordlessly found one of the nearest guards and assigned him to keep an eye on the rest of the men while she dragged Phoenix over toward one of the sheds, giving him a gentle smile before it became rather dark as her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing his bristled cheek slowly.

"Remind me to get you shaved," she murmured gently.

Phoenix chuckled softly and pressed her back against the shed wall. "But doesn't it feel nice..." He teased, lowering a hand in between Liese's legs. "Here?"

Kristoph watched Liese take the rowdy prisoner - who suddenly became rather cooperative - behind the sheds. He waited for a gunshot or a scream but he heard nothing.

Strange.

The blond kept his hands leisurely behind his back as he walked quietly towards the sheds, gravel crunching lightly beneath his boots.

Liese exhaled softly when she heard the faint sound of gravel crunching, then gave Phoenix a quick kiss and an apologetic look before kicking Phoenix's knee. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it was enough to make him cry out in surprise and she forced him to the ground, mouthing the word "guard" so that he wouldn't be upset with her.

Phoenix gasped and groaned as he fell to the ground. He glanced up to see Liese tell him it was a guard and he curled up a little like he was seriously hurt.

Kristoph turned the corner just after Phoenix screamed and he smiled at Liese. "Guten Morgen." He looked at the man curled on the ground. "Ich war nervös, als ich nichts hörte." He shrugged lightly and shook his head, "Sie haben Dinge unter der Kontrolle, ja?"

"Ja." Liese nodded toward Kristoph. "Ich werde noch nicht getan. Er braucht mehr Strafe." Her smile was cold and cruel toward Phoenix, managing to rival Kristoph at his coldest. One hand waved dismissively at Kristoph, keeping her gaze at Phoenix.

Kristoph took one last look at Phoenix then nodded. "Gut." He turned and left the area, continuing to the Captain's office.

Phoenix waited a moment before looking up at Liese, wondering if they could continue.

Liese helped Phoenix up, deciding to head back into the shed, pressing his back against the wall as she kissed him again, running a hand down to grope at his cock, pleased that the kick hadn't stopped his arousal at all.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were becoming a masochist," she whispered in his ear, nipping at the lobe slowly.

Phoenix chuckled lightly and leaned back against the wall. "I wish. Then this place would be almost too sexy to handle." He murmured before groaning and pressing his hips towards her hand.

"So did you check Trucy last night?" He asked, having asked the woman to check on his daughter as often as possible. Especially since Kristoph patrols the children's side at night.

"Ja...I've been checking on her every day ever six hours for the past two weeks." Liese spoke the truth and kept stroking at a steady pace, gently easing Phoenix's gray pants down to keep slowly exposing him with a slow smile. "Kristoph won't touch her...and Klavier's been watching her during her chores...Trucy's a smart girl. She has what it takes to survive." She was confident, slowly making sure that Phoenix was satisfied mentally before being physically satisfied.

Phoenix smiled and kissed Liese gently. "You've been more than wonderful for me here..." He said softly, still pressing himself against Liese though his eyes showed more concern than lust.

"And that just reminded me... What happens if you're caught?" He kissed her again. If Kristoph walked in on them again and Liese didn't react fast enough they'd both probably be dead. Phoenix felt a little guilty to be putting Liese in such danger.

"If I were weaker, we'd end up dead...but I'm not weak," Liese said with confidence, kissing Phoenix once more and smiling at him. "And I'll prove it to you right now..." She licked her lips and played her free hand along his chest, keeping him pressed against the wall, showing that she didn't want to discuss the subject further.

*********

Daryan passed by yet another protest group with a speaker and he sighed, looking down at Machi walking beside him.

"What are they even upset over?" He asked quietly. "If everyone stopped fighting here it'd be a great place." He was still upset over the rebels trying to burn Machi's place and was convinced they were being stupid. "What's rioting going to do?"

"They arguing over much. Government, society, politics, war..." Machi trailed off a little and glanced around, unsure of what to do except avert the protest groups and try to walk to the restaurant with Daryan.

Daryan sighed and nodded, "Eh, there's nothing we can do." He shrugged, realizing he must have sounded like one of the stoned rebels complaining about 'all the hate in the world.'

They reached the restaurant with little trouble and Daryan opened the door for Machi.

He thanked Daryan for opening the door for him and sat down on one of the tables, Machi ordering a large appetizer for the two of them to share that looked like chips and some sort of greenish dip. It tasted like spinach and some sort of other vegetable that he couldn't place, but it was still good.

Daryan watched out the window as he dipped his chip and took a bite. It felt like he was infatuated with the riots. There were so many and he wanted to get rid of them but just observing how these people were sheep was insanely interesting. Daryan didn't major in psychology or anything but he had been trained to interrogate before he joined the general forces. He knew quite a bit about how criminals followed a leader... Most interesting was that most riots and group organizations froze like a deer in headlights when their leader is killed or removed.

Maybe if he just went around and shot all the ringleaders...

He mumbled something to himself about being psychotic and took another chip.

Machi watched Daryan eating his chips and remained silent, unsure as to what he was thinking about, but moved to get more chips and felt his fingers brushing against Daryan's a little, his cheeks burning red by the time he stopped the purposeful strokes. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so strange with Daryan now, but it was a rather strange feeling and even a little intense. Before he could say anything, the waitress arrived and prepared to ask them for their orders, Machi deciding to order some chicken since he was hungry.

Daryan glanced over at the waitress and ordered a salad - he had taken to eating less when he was preparing to go to the UK so he decided not to bother stuffing himself afterwards - and looked at Machi, wondering why the kid was so red.

"You okay?" He asked, taking another chip. He noticed how Machi acted around him and Daryan could only hope he didn't give in and start something he promised himself never to happen.

"...Yes," Machi insisted quickly, shaking his head and trying to put off the way he had looked at Daryan so that the man wouldn't be too curious, pushing the huge amount of chips (which he'd eaten less than half of what Daryan had eaten) toward the soldier since he had only eaten a salad. "You eating this. You having less."

"Nah," Daryan shook his head and gently pushed the plate back towards Machi. "My boss would kill me. I have to eat less so that I'm not complaining for a turkey dinner out on the field." He smiled at Machi and stirred his drink with his straw. "Thanks, though... you sure you're okay?" He reached forward and touched the back of his hand to Machi's forehead as if checking for a fever.

"I'm fine," Machi insisted, his face flushing to an even deeper shade of red when Daryan touched his forehead, shaking his head. "I not sick...you no needing to worry..." Luckily, the chicken and salad had arrived and Machi focused his attention on his chicken, wishing that the restaurants in Borginia weren't designed to shortchange a person on their food just to get a couple extra bills in their pocket.

Daryan smiled and sat back in his seat as he picked up his fork.

"Of course I need to worry. You're my friend." He stabbed some lettuce on his fork and glanced up every now and then at Machi to make sure he really was okay. Sickness was deadly these days and he didn't want the kid catching anything.

Machi began trying hard not to look at Daryan for the moment and just finished his chicken, shaking his head and managing to eat that pitiful little bird before glancing at his friend. He couldn't stop looking at him for some reason, unable to figure out what it was that made Daryan just easy to look at.

"I...full," Machi lied, still feeling hungry since that damn chicken went through him quickly.

Daryan smiled at the kid and stood to lean forwards.

"Okay." He kissed Machi's forehead, still worried he might be sick, and dropped some cash onto the table, knowing it was slightly more than enough. "Let's go."

*********

"Diederich?" Yuri brushed back a thick strand of dark hair and looked toward the younger of her older twin brothers, noticing the way that he was glancing off to the side as he entered the room. This was the first time she had seen him since her recovery and he looked to be really out of it. "Is something wrong?" She turned her head a little and coughed, not needing to stay in bed, but she was still forced to rest in the room and sat in a rocking chair, looking at her brother in curiosity.

"Hm? Ouais..." Diederich nodded and leaned against the wall. "I'm fine. Ramón has just been... rather absent." He sighed quietly. The Spaniard hadn't been to the café since that amazing night and Diederich was beginning to doubt his own ability. He actually had begun to feel guilty, wondering if Ramón didn't want to see him, thus the week-long absence.

"... How are you feeling?" He tried to change the subject and smile at Yuri.

"A little better," Yuri said honestly, smiling at Diederich the best she could. "Dimitri says I can get out of here next week...and I want to go outside and get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I've never been there before...I wanna go up there and see the entire city...covered in snow. Isn't winter coming?" She hadn't been able to look out the window in fear of contamination, but she could see the leaves turning colors even without being able to see them.

Diederich smiled sadly and folded his arms, nodding slowly. "Ouais... Yuri, I promise we'll bring you up to see a snowy Paris." He smiled a little even though it was a hot fall and snow seemed almost impossible to get in a week.

"I promise you it will be beautiful... you'll love it." He sighed quietly and leaned against the wall.

"...Thank you, Diederich. I don't need it in a week, though...I want to see it in the winter...after the snow. Besides, it's still fall." Yuri smiled, showing a rather mature wisdom despite her seventeen years and idyllic fantasies of a snowy city. "We can wait around the holidays to do that...but you should go out and see the city. I bet it looks beautiful surrounded in color." She stood up and put a hand on the wall as if there really were a window there and she could see all the beautiful colors of fall tinting the city of love.

Diederich sighed sadly and nodded. The poor girl... at least she would wait.

"It is..." He agreed softly. Indeed, the leaves changed but there was no crisp, cool air... it was hot as summer. He found himself somehow worrying about Ramón again and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yuri... I'm sorry, I'm going to go make sure Ramón is okay..." He looked at the girl staring at the wall. "Dimitri is home if you need him..."

Yuri nodded and watched Diederich leave the room, the younger twin immediately joined by his elder, who looked at him in curiosity in between writing his theories.

"Diederich? Where are you going?" he asked, knowing that his brother didn't look like he was himself lately. He hardly flirted endlessly since he had caught him coming home in the early morning and looking like he didn't have a wink of sleep. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Diederich had slept with someone and Dimitri just knew that it had to be Ramon since they hadn't seen him in almost a week now.

"I'm checking up on Ramón." Diederich said simply, walking to the front door and slipping his boots on. He knelt to tie them up.

"Should I pick up bread?" He asked, wondering if they were out.

"Da...we need more bread," Dimitri said with a nod, going back to his book.

Diederich left down the cobblestone street to Ramón's home, purposely choosing the artist's alley as transportation so he could find a painting of Paris in the fall. He bought one for Yuri and bought a loaf of bread as well before noticing the particular Spaniard a few stands down.

"Ramón!" Diederich grinned, relieved to have found the man so easily. "Ramón, I've been worried about you!"

Ramon heard the man calling out toward him, shaking his head and quickly rushing off, trying to avoid Diederich, especially in his diseased state. He wasn't sure what to really say: "Hola, I have a fatal disease that makes me cough up blood and you can probably get it. Isn't that great!?" The Spaniard shook his head and quickly paid for his bread, running off for his house and locking the door.

Sorry, Diederich, but you don't want to deal with this.

He covered his mouth and coughed a little more, sighing at the blood in his hands. Damn. The coughs were getting worse.

Diederich chased after Ramón for only one street before sighing and leaning back on his heels. Did he hate him? Diederich feared he ruined them from that one night... Shit.

He headed home with the painting and bread, deciding to say nothing about the problem, whatever it was.

*********

Klavier took a young girl by her wrist and took her with him away from the working site. He knelt and flipped out a tiny flashlight, opening the girl's mouth and checking inside before looking over her eyes. He swore when he had no stethoscope - as she was coughing - and simply lead her to the sick bay, almost entirely sure it was the flu or a cold. He didn't want the girl infecting the other young teens and putting her in the sick bay himself would make him feel better - especially if he knew Kristoph wasn't working there.

"Is something wrong?" Trucy asked the blond man hoarsely on the way to the sick bay, following him lethargically and rubbing her runny nose on her gray sleeve. He scared her a little since he reminded her of that devilish man that had killed the little boy in front of her and she just obeyed him without another word other than that question. Maybe he knew the blond woman that had lectured Kristoph after he'd killed the boy and it helped her trust him just a little more. "Are you going to kill me?" The question was as general as asking for the weather and she meant it honestly.

Klavier stopped dead in his tracks at those words and he turned to look in surprise at the girl.

"... Was?" He frowned and knelt. "Why would I...?" Scheiße, Kristoph. He realized his brother might be responsible for the girl's question. "Nein, nein, I have no reason to kill you. I believe you are sick." He stood back up and brushed the dirt off his pants before leading Trucy inside the sick bay.

"I'm going to help you get better... so you can keep working." He added quietly, always feeling a little guilty that they kept the prisoners alive just to keep them working. He had heard Kristoph had some kind of idea involving showers to control the increasing amount of prisoners.

Klavier patted a hospital bed for Trucy to sit on and he moved away to find the stethoscope.

"Liebling, can you take off your shirt for me?" He asked, forgetting she was developing already. He found the stethoscope and hung it around his neck as he turned and smiled at Trucy. He really liked taking care of the sick prisoners. He felt some kind of redemption for saving them to make up for the Fürher's plan. He didn't like shooting kids.

Trucy nodded and obeyed, not caring for the fact that she was developing breasts, nor that she was asked this by a man who could easily end up beating her in a heartbeat like that man would do. She was covered in a few nasty scars from the brutal whippings when she slowed down, but she looked all right otherwise. Of course, she nearly jumped when she heard the door open and then shut as that blond woman she'd seen occasionally through the day arrive.

"Klavier?" Liese wondered, looking at her brother. She was wondering why the girl was shirtless and why she was in the sick bay. If Trucy was badly sick, she felt that it would be her fault for not keeping a closer eye on the girl and Phoenix would likely never want to associate with her again.

"Danke." Klavier walked over to Trucy and glanced up at Liese to smile in greeting. "Hallo, schwester. Das Kinder ist krank." He put the buds in his ears and breathed on the stethoscope to try warming it before placing it on the left side of Trucy's chest.

"Atmen." He commanded softly, before sighing quietly at himself and translating. "Breathe."

Trucy obeyed and inhaled and exhaled slowly, unsure as to why the woman now looked slightly petrified and was handed a thermometer to place under her tongue while Klavier examined her breathing. It didn't hurt to breathe, she was just tired and achy from what it could possibly be. Liese pulled out the thermometer.

"101.4," she reported, slightly distressed even though the girl seemed to be doing all right despite the fever and the shivering from the chills (that had to be fever-related, she hoped). Hopefully she could recover after a day in sick bay...or she would lose a lot more than just a little girl's life...she'd end up losing the love of her own life.

"Ja," Klavier nodded and put away the stethoscope and placed his hands on his hips. "You should be fine for tomorrow... Maybe take the day off." Klavier smiled at Trucy then turned his attention to Liese.

"Was ist los?" Liese looked far more worried than she should be for the girl.

"Nicht," the woman insisted, then escorted Trucy toward the sick bay to rest. "It's just a flu. You'll spend the rest of the day in here and start working first thing in the morning." The girl nodded and Liese began heading back toward the area Phoenix was assigned to work in: lifting up huge crates with several other men. She gave him a look to signify that he should try to get himself in trouble, purposefully tripping him a little and using the opportunity to pounce and bring him toward one of the same sheds, holding the man tightly before she decided to tell him. "Trucy's been sent to sick bay."

Phoenix was just about to kiss the woman before he froze. He quickly grabbed Liese's shoulders and held her still.

"When? Why?" He asked quickly, the words nearly melting into each other. His eyes darted to and from both of Liese's eyes in slight fear for his daughter.

"Twenty minutes ago. It's just a flu. Klavier found her and sent her to the sick bay to recover. She's got a few scars from whippings by Kristoph, but Trucy will be fine. Just needs a day of rest." Liese turned her head a little, unable to look Phoenix in the eye after feeling like she had failed him utterly. "I'm sorry...I should have kept a closer eye on her..."

Phoenix sighed in relief and hugged Liese tight. "Don't worry, it's not your fault..." He kissed Liese's cheek and used a finger to bring her chin up towards him. "Thank you for watching her... Without you I wouldn't even know if she's alive." He kissed her gently then made a quiet sound of anger.

"Kristoph, however, will die for that." He hated how the man would whip and shoot children if they so much as breathed.

"...He'll pay for what he's done. I'll make sure of that," Liese vowed, keeping her head on Phoenix's shoulder and resting her eyes by closing them. She'd been feeling so tired lately for some reason and some rest would be good for her.

*********

Machi was unable to stop thinking about Daryan after that time in the restaurant. It didn't help that the man was always by his side, kept giving him hugs, kissing his face and head, and was the best friend the young teenager had ever had. In fact, that was what made him think about Daryan more and more. He wondered about what it could mean as he headed over toward the market with some money Daryan had given him to buy groceries, then found his arm grabbed by one of those protesters.

"*My young friend, what are you doing out here? There is a war going on, it's not safe out here,*" the man insisted, keeping a tight hold of Machi's arm despite the blond's protests.

"Nnn..." he groaned, trying to wrench himself free.

The man held him tighter and started to drag the blond boy towards the large group of people yelling at the governmental building. "*Come on, now, help us end this.*" He coaxed, needing as many people in this protest as he could.

"*No...!*" Machi somehow found some sort of strength to kick the man in the ankle, unsure of how he got the idea to do that and began to run. He was used to running fast to get away from protesters and ended up finding his way back home without any groceries to bring back to Daryan. "I...I'm home..."

Daryan looked up from the tattered newspaper in his hand. He had been in the middle of writing out a simple equation to figure out what necessities were needed and how much it would cost them.

"Hey, are you okay?" He frowned, noticing how breathless the boy was and the lack of groceries.

"...Yes. The store...it being close," Machi lied, not wanting to worry Daryan further and have him waste his time trying to comfort the teen rather than do something that would be more necessary for them.

"Really?" Daryan frowned a little and stood to walk over to the teen. "You look scared..." He doubted Machi sprinted home - he looked tired and frightened.

"I...I fine," Machi insisted, shaking his head rapidly, his feet not wanting to move for some reason as he kept trying to avoid eye contact with Daryan, but those dark eyes were pulling him in and he couldn't avoid it for too long.

Daryan took Machi's chin and raised his chin to look at him. "Kid... you're shaking. Come on, what happened?" Maybe someone mugged him... shit, Daryan prepared to ask for a description so he could beat the guy's ass.

"A...A protester...he grabbing me...trying to making me...join..." He couldn't say anything more without resorting to Borginese, but Machi hoped the message was clear to Daryan...or clear enough for him, at least.

Daryan sighed and hugged Machi. "Kid... you okay?" He asked, worried for Machi's health if he was attacked by a protester. "Don't lie to me, it makes it worse." He murmured, sighing quietly into his shoulder.

"I...he scaring me...a little." Machi blushed from the closeness of Daryan's body against his like this, especially with his mind having a hard time processing just what it was that he felt for the man...his first friend...his only friend...the best friend he'd ever have. "But I...I not scared now..." Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but it was just for what he was about to do rather than the situation from earlier. He tilted his head a little to have his lips press against Daryan's, the action slightly awkward but mainly experimental as if he feared what would happen if he did this.

Daryan took a moment to process what was happening. After a moment he pulled away from Machi, staring at him in slight confusion.

"... Machi...?" He murmured quietly, wondering if Machi seriously wanted to start this... whatever 'this' was.

"I...I sorry...you not wanting...you not wanting...me, right?" Machi laughed, the sound strained and dry, almost scared and sarcastic at the same time. He felt so stupid, having kissed his only friend like that when it was obvious that Daryan didn't like it. "I...I can leaving now...if you wanting that..."

"No, no Machi... don't leave..." Daryan shook his head quickly. He hesitated before cupping Machi's jaw and bringing his lips close again.

"Your kiss was a little crooked. Like this." He smiled lightly and kissed Machi properly.

Machi's eyes bulged a little in surprise from the kiss, but he quickly started to return it, placing his hand on Daryan's cheek to hold his face in return. This was...nice...almost as good as being held close at night and sharing everything possible...no, this was better. He knew that it was...it had to be love. He was in love with Daryan, his only friend, and he loved it. It couldn't have been better no matter how much he tried.

*********

Diederich sighed softly and shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing lazily at the works on sale in the Artist's Alley. He couldn't stop thinking about Ramón and wondering if he hated him. He finally tugged Dimitri over to the nearest outdoor café and sat down, ordering the cheapest wine as he knew it had to be high in alcohol.

He glanced up at Dimitri and blinked slowly.

"Je m'excuse... I'm tired." He lied bluntly and mumbled a 'merci' when the wine was put on the table.

"You slept half the day, you're not tired," Dimitri said, splitting the bottle of wine between the two of them with a rather perturbed look at his younger twin. "What's wrong with you, Diederich? All you do is sleep and get yourself drunk. Yuri's been worried about you and so have I. You can't just get drunk and sleep all day, you'll die in a matter of weeks." He sipped from his wine, making a slight gag at the overwhelming amount of alcohol in the cheap liquid.

"I might as well." Diederich mumbled to himself as he took a mouthful of wine and ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'm sick." He stated before taking another long sip. "Speaking of worrying, where's Ramón?" He glared at his wine glass. "He hasn't been at the café..." He frowned and shifted a little in his seat, swirling his wine almost angrily before taking yet another gulp.

"Well..." Dimitri was about to say something, but the door opened and he glanced toward the softly tinkling bell that signaled a new arrival. His head turned in between watching Diederich drinking himself up and saw a familiar, yet paler face.

The Spaniard in question was walking into the cafe and ordering the usual glass of milk in a table far away from the twins. He could see Diederich getting himself drunk in a reversal of the last time he saw both twins together and he shook his head a little, drinking his milk as he looked at Dimitri and Diederich from a distance.

Diederich didn't even notice the door open and he took another drink of the wine.

"Bastard... I gave him the best fucking night of our lives and he runs and hides..." He growled at his wine glass, downing the rest of the drink before slamming it on the table and chipping the base. He groaned and hid his head in his arms as if he was preparing to cry.

"Dimitri..." he pleaded quietly, "find 'im an' tell 'im I hate 'im." His speech was slurring a little already and he just sobbed silently into his arm. Perhaps the alcohol was doing something to him.

"Da," Dimitri said, patting his younger twin on the back before deciding to go over to the far table to see Ramon drinking his milk, sitting down in front of him. "You heard him, didn't you?" The Spaniard avoided eye contact with Dimitri, focusing toward one of the paintings on the walls.

"Who can't hear him?" Ramon asked rather dryly, trying not to show that he was starting to feel a bit of sympathy toward the man that had left him in the night. "The whole damn street can hear him. And you heard him...you're supposed to tell me that he hates me when you find me. So just say it and go." He quickly kept drinking his milk to avoid the tickle in his throat, trying to not have Dimitri notice anything different.

"You two are impossible," Dimitri said with a scowl, shaking his head and pulling over his inebriated brother toward the table. "Just talk to him. He's become so pathetic now." Ramon just sighed and turned his head.

"I have nothing to say," he lied.

Diederich took a moment before blinking hard and frowning.

"Shit... you found him..." he mumbled to Dimitri before rubbing his eyes.

"I... Why do you hate me?" He asked weakly, feeling like a frightened child. He didn't want to lose Ramón yet he was so upset with the man for ignoring him.

"I don't hate you." Ramon was looking at the man's shoulder rather than his pathetic-looking face and was tempted to pat him on the head, but that would risk passing the disease onto both twins and he just shook his head. "I just can't see you two anymore." Dimitri exhaled and shook his head.

"This is pathetic...I don't know which of you is more apt to waste away, acting like this," he said with a soft scowl. "Just be honest and say what you want to say..." Ramon cut him off by slamming his hands on the table.

"Easy for you to say," he snapped toward the elder twin. "You don't understand...neither of you..." He sat down and held his forehead, cursing softly in Spanish.

Diederich gave a pathetic cough and frowned, a childlike sadness on his face.

"What...?" He leaned forward a little and tried to touch his hand.

"R-Ramón, I lo-nnh..." He cut himself off and bit his lip, afraid to say the word if Ramón seriously hated him.

"...You don't, Diederich," Ramon said, trying to make himself cold as ice. "You just wanted to fuck me...and I wanted to fuck you...that's all it was." It hurt to lie, but he had to do this to keep both the twins away from him just in case he got them sick. Dimitri sighed and looked back and forth between them.

"Stop lying, Ramon," he said, trying to get at least some sort of truth from him, but the Spaniard began to run out of the cafe. Dammit, he was supposed to be able to keep his heart cold, but if Dimitri could find him out...this wasn't going to work at all...

Diederich felt like he had been stabbed at those words. The wine only made it worse and he wanted to cry. Diederich took a moment before standing up and stumbling to the door and swearing as he nearly ran right into the doorframe. Damn... fucking... wine... shit...

He pushed open the door and chased after Ramón, though it was hard as the man was in perfect health and Diederich was horribly intoxicated.

Ramon's health was deteriorating already and he couldn't run for long before he felt his lungs constraining, going to his knees and coughing in his hands. He could taste the blood he'd be hacking up the past few weeks and it made him feel disgusting and diseased, both from the tuberculosis and from having to push away his only friends because he didn't want to get them sick.

It was pathetic how he'd become an absolute pansy since meeting Diederich and Dimitri...

The elder twin managed to find Diederich and helped him up to assist him in finding Ramon, picking out the hunched Spaniard on the street and jerking Diederich toward him to show his inebriated brother where he was.

Diederich followed Dimitri's direction and found Ramón hunched over and coughing. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned down to gently take his chin and pull his face up. The moment he saw his lips, Diederich kissed him, everything far too blurry to let him notice a trail of blood from the Spaniard's mouth.

"¡La mierda ... se escapa de mí!" Ramon pushed Diederich away from him, having liked the kiss, but he was diseased and he didn't want to get the man sick. Dimitri pulled Diederich aside, noticing the blood coming from Ramon's mouth.

"Ramon..." He kept his grip on Diederich and couldn't keep eyes off of the Spaniard. He...couldn't have...

Diederich felt like crying when Ramón pushed him away. When he was pulled away by Dimitri he gripped his twin brother and sobbed quietly into his shoulder. Everything was Hell and the wine was making it all worse and making him act like a child.

Ramon turned his head to the side, already feeling like an absolute ass for doing this to the inebriated Diederich, but he had to protect him from getting infected...but it failed now and he decided to help Diederich up, prying him from Dimitri's grip to hold onto him.

"I'm sorry," he said, keeping his voice low and his face straight as he wrapped his arms around the crying Diederich. Dimitri watched this, unsure of what to really say, so he just hung his head and remained silent.

He looked up and felt the rain hitting his face as the clouds descended over the once clear blue sky.

*********

Liese leaned down near the barracks, having been assigned to keep an eye on the men in her section for the night despite her health in less than desirable shape. She felt her stomach churning and slumped down on the ground, resting her back on the cabin while trying to catch her breath. It didn't work for long and she turned her head to the side, gagging and vomiting on the ground. Maybe she caught that flu from Trucy, but that had been a good long while ago and the girl was back at work and in better shape than ever. She shook her head in confusion and stood up to keep herself professional just in case Kristoph began wandering around.

Klavier lit a cigarette and strolled down along the cabins, watching for anyone who might be disturbing the peace. He heard a sound and started towards it only to see Liese standing up.

"Schwester?" He frowned and walked over, noticing the small puddle of vomit near the cabin. "Was ist los? Sie erbrechen...?" He worried, taking his cigarette from his mouth.

"Ja...Ich habe mich krank gefühlt," Liese said honestly, shaking her head a bit to try and make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. She wished he could just let her get off her shift to spend some time with Phoenix before the morning bugle went off, but she'd have to try and apprehend him during the morning and tried to keep walking around to keep her rounds steady, but ended up falling down to her hands and knees on the grassless ground. Her head was practically spinning for some reason and it confused her, having felt like this all week now.

"Ach, folgen." He ordered, still a little worried, and he took her hand and started to lead her to the sick bay.

"Wann fing das an?" He asked as he reached the sick bay and motioned towards one of the beds.

"Vor ungefähr einer Woche," Liese said, lying down on one of the beds and glancing toward Klavier, wanting to get out of here and get to Phoenix as soon as possible. She hated the smell of sick bay and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Klavier found a few tools and hurried over to Liese. He put on his stethoscope and unbuttoned Liese's jacket. He slid his hand and the other end of the stethoscope up her shirt to find her chest and he murmured for her to take deep breaths.

"... Have you changed your diet at all?" He asked, used to the doctor questions in English because of the amount of patients who knew no German.

"Did anything in your routine change before last week?"

"No," Liese said, talking about the routine change, but she added, "I have been craving a lot of cheese and crackers. It's the only thing I can really keep down. I've been eating a lot, lately, but I've been cutting out some of the sweets I normally eat." She shook her head a little. "It's nothing big, Klavier..."

Klavier frowned and shifted his hand to hear the other lung. "... Craving?" He repeated slowly. "You haven't been taking drugs or drinking too much, ja?" He ran through the regular questions and remembered the last one he hadn't mentioned. "How is your period?" Always a little odd to ask but he had to know.

"Of course I haven't been taking drugs...I haven't been drinking, either...well, I do drink water and juice, but that's all," Liese insisted truthfully, then the question about her period was asked and she just shrugged, having not remembered having her period since this all began. She'd heard that stress could lead to not having a period and she had been overworked lately, so she just shrugged at the last question. "Controllable."

Klavier put away the stethoscope and motioned for her to sit up as he flicked out a little flashlight to check her eyes and mouth.

Kristoph finally found where his siblings had gotten to and he walked briskly into the sick bay, mumbling something about them slacking off. He held a few pages in one hand and a pen under his thumb, holding them to his chest as if to keep them safe as he stepped over to the bed.

"Was ist los?" He looked at Liese critically, considering she was sitting on a sick bed.

"Magenschmerzen. Klavier wurde beunruhigt," Liese said to Kristoph, then noticed the papers that he had in his hand. "Was ist das?" She leaned back a little and prepared to get up, wondering if she was done here to go see Phoenix really quick.

Kristoph held out the papers to Liese, the smallest smile pulling at his lips.

"A list of dogs to be euthanized." He said curtly, having taken to not recognizing the prisoners as human. "Feel free to add." At the top of the list was 'Phoenix Wright'. He had noticed how often Liese took the man away from the work to punish him and it was almost abnormal how often he got in trouble.

"Ah..." Liese covered her mouth, unable to control herself from holding back on running out of sick bay, keeping a close eye on her papers and holding them tightly as she headed toward the eastern barracks where Phoenix resided. The man was, of course, sleeping in one of the bottom bunks and she began shaking him hard to wake him up, tears already running down her cheeks and thankful that she hadn't started vomiting. "Phoenix...Phoenix, wake up..."

"Was- Liese!" Kristoph withdrew his hand and stared at her nearly violent reaction. He looked at Klavier who only shrugged before putting away the tools and running over the symptoms in his head.

Phoenix woke and sat up quickly to hold Liese's arms, hushing her gently.

"Calm down, calm down..." he rubbed one eye and blinked before standing. "What's wrong?" He glanced at the other roommates and decided to slip on his shoes and bring Liese outside. She was shaking and crying and Phoenix couldn't help but kiss her over and over and beg she would calm down.

"K...Kristoph..." Liese gasped the name softly between the kisses and decided to show Phoenix the list of those sent to be chemically euthanized by the end of the following week. "These papers are a list that show those who are designated to be killed at the end of the following week by being locked in the chemical sheds. My brother decided to put you on the very top of the list." She couldn't stop crying as she told him this, trying to form a plan as to how to spare the man from an unfair death and orphaning that poor young teenager who had been through enough hell already.

Phoenix took a moment before blinking hard and kissing Liese again, moving the list from his sight.

"It's... it's okay." He murmured, resting his hands on her hips. "Liese, it's okay, it's going to be fine I'm not going to die..." He assured her slowly, not exactly sure of what he would do to escape Kristoph's plan.

"Don't worry about it. Don't..." he kissed her again and sighed softly. "Don't cry, Liese... please..." He kissed away the tears and held her close, worrying a little for himself now.

"I'll get you and Trucy out of here...before it happens. We'll find a way and you two will get out of here." She paused a little and headed back over toward her own private quarters, which was the same size as the single room cabins, but with sparse furnishing to make the room look smaller and a small bathroom as well. "I won't let you two get killed here...I'll die before that happens..."

"Liese!" Phoenix followed her and grabbed her by the shoulders to turn her around.

"Don't say that. Please. I don't want anything happening to you." He said softly before kissing her again. "We'll deal with this... it'll be okay..." He said slowly, kissing her a little deeper.

She lazed her blue eyes after that deep kiss, returning before having to slowly take her mouth away from Phoenix's. Liese looked at him, trying to control her emotions as she locked her clearer eyes onto his slightly darker ones, though both pairs of irises were blue.

"I love you, Phoenix...I wish the situation could have been better, but...I really do love you," Liese said honestly, looking at him honestly before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss.

Phoenix smiled gently and kissed her back. "I love you too, Liese." He admitted softly and gave her another kiss. "We'll get out of here... I swear we will..." he murmured, slowly moving forward to press her against the wall.

"Nein." Liese smiled playfully as she moved over from the wall to lie down on her bed, pulling Phoenix over her to give him another kiss. "I promise...I'll get you and your daughter out of this place..." She began removing that stained gray shirt that hid his muscled, tanned body from view. Ever since he'd come here, he was stronger and his paled skin had taken a tanner tone from working in the sun so much...it was beautiful...he was beautiful...and he was going to live even if it meant she would die making sure of that.

Phoenix sighed playfully and slid off her jacket and started on her pants. "You're too stubborn." He teased, giving her another kiss before he moved them down onto the bed. He got rid of her pants and pressed kisses to her breasts as she worked on getting his pants.

Liese was beautiful and Phoenix felt almost undeserving of her. He adored her and loved her and the only problem with it all was their status here.

"I love you." He breathed, finding it wonderful to tell her again.

"I love you, too," Liese whispered honestly, kissing his lips and moving down to his neck, nuzzling it gently before looking up at Phoenix and wrapping a leg around his waist to pull him down, his stronger body pressing onto hers.

Phoenix grinned and kissed her again, rubbing his hips against hers. He glanced down to position himself then pushed into her slowly, moaning softly at the feeling.

"Damnit... I love you so much..." he murmured, feeling almost intoxicated from simply being inside her. He started to move his hips and he grinned, kissing along her neck.

"I...love you more..." Liese moaned, her hips moving with Phoenix's as her hand ran through his hair, not caring for the bristled face against her skin. Those whiskers of hers were serving to arouse her further as her other hand traveled to take greedy handfuls of his ass before grasping onto his back from the sheer pleasure running through her.

"No... I... more..." Phoenix grunted, one hand against the mattress and the other on Liese's hip as he quickened the pace. She felt wonderful around him and he just wished he could lay in bed and do this every day with Liese without the fear of being found or killed.

"Nngh...I...more..." Liese grasped his back carefully, not wanting to leave marks on Phoenix's skin that could be easily discovered, and wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer to her, her body flushed and covered in sweat for the pure exertion of this. She was getting closer...and it wouldn't be long before she had to give in...and she was looking forward to giving him all she had, straining to keep her hips thrusting against his.

".. More." Phoenix breathed, pressing messy kisses to her mouth and cheeks as he slammed into her, getting so close to finishing first he was almost afraid he'd end up losing the unspoken battle to last the longest. He groaned and wrapped his arms around her, kissing down her neck.

"M-Mehr...!" The tips of Liese's fingers dug into his strong back, unable to hold out for much longer as she came around him, holding him close as she convulsed, keeping up the thrusting from her hips as she panted, pulling his sweat-covered body close.

Phoenix grunted lowly and gave one more thrust before following suite and climaxing. He groaned and held her close, kissing her lazily and panting softly.

"I-I love you..." he breathed, kissing her deeply. "I love you so much."

"I know...I love you, too." Liese wrapped an arm around the middle of his torso to keep him close as she ran a hand through his hair. There was still some time before the early wake-up call and she pulled up the blanket to keep herself and Phoenix warm, too tired to bother walking him back to his cabin. "That'll never change...never..." She yawned in exhaustion and somehow managed to fall asleep despite her worries for the next week.

Phoenix gave her a tired smile and kissed her softly before holding her close and falling asleep beside her.

Klavier had been running through the symptoms in his head and he even checked a book, but the only sickness that included everything...

Klavier looked at the floor, eyes widening in realization. He even forgot Kristoph was standing there admiring his nails as he thought out loud without knowing just how upset his elder brother would be by hearing the truth.

"... She's pregnant."


	3. Part 3 : End

_BANG! BANG!_

Machi groaned at the sound, trying to bury himself further in Daryan's bare chest to block it out. It was disturbing his dream, an encore of what he and Daryan had done just hours ago, and he didn't want anything stupid to ruin that perfect dream. He pulled himself closer to the dark-haired man, feeling a dark lock brushing against his cheek as his face buried into Daryan's neck.

_BANG! BANG!_

Daryan woke a little from the noise and blinked sleepily. "Mmf... whassat?" He was surprisingly tired and the banging noise was bothering him. He looked down at Machi and kissed his cheek before hugging him close.

_BANG! BANG!_

Finally, Machi couldn't take it and reluctantly disengaged himself from Daryan's arms, grabbing the first thing that looked like a shirt that he could find on the floor. He buttoned up Daryan's white shirt, thankful that it at least went past his hips since he didn't feel up to wearing anything else just for the sake of cover when something like this was involved. A frustrated growl escaped the tousled blond as he opened the door.

"*What the hell are you doing?*" he demanded toward the group of protesters surrounding his ramshackle of a house.

The protesters laughed a little and the leader stepped forward. "*What do you think we're doing?*" He shoved Machi and took another step, almost inside the house. "*Fixing what the government fucked up.*"

Machi fell backward, landing hard on his bottom and quickly pulling his shirt down a little to prevent exposing himself to those damned rioters. It was likely he bruised his tailbone, but he still got up and pulled the door shut to keep them out of the house.

"*You're wrecking my house! Do you think that's fixing everything!?*" the teenager yelled angrily toward the group.

"*And the government is wrecking our lives!*" The leader yelled back, shoving Machi against the closed door. "*They fucked up justice and now they're gonna pay!*" The rest of the large group cheered in agreement and tightened the semi-circle around Machi's home.

Daryan heard the door slam and he sat up, noticing the warm body beside him had vanished. He grumbled and got up, pulling on his pants and picking up his gun - he never liked using it because of the amount of fighting that could erupt from shooting someone. He gripped his gun and opened the door.

Machi winced from being pushed against the door, getting the wind knocked out of him from being shoved hard against the door before moving out of the way to let Daryan move out of the door. He just gazed toward his best friend/lover, unsure of what to say or do when he saw him in only his pants and carrying a gun.

"D...Daryan..."

"The fuck is going on...?" Daryan rubbed his eyes and glared at the group of men outside the door. He pointed the gun at the obvious leader who was now taking a few steps back. "*Piss off.*" He growled, shooting at the ground in front of the man.

The leader jumped a little and glared before trying to keep some dignity and walk away proudly, though Daryan saw him sprint once he left the sidewalk.

"You okay, kid?" He dropped his gun and knelt to hug Machi. "Sorry.."

"I'm okay." Machi held onto Daryan tightly and buried his face in the older man's shoulder, kissing it briefly before looking up at Daryan. His breathing hurt just a little from the shove into the door as well as his bottom from his less than graceful landing as he grasped onto the man's bare back.

Daryan sighed softly and kissed Machi's cheek. "Good." He murmured before leading the blond back to bed. "We need to get out of here soon..." He told himself quietly, deciding to figure out just what would happen when he fully woke up.

"Yes...I wanting to leave," Machi said honestly, his head resting on Daryan's chest to be able to hear the man's heartbeat, the sound managing to lull him back to sleep, forgetting for now about the protesters and just enjoying the feeling of being in his lover's arms.

********

"... I'm sorry." Diederich mumbled for what must've been the third time already as he set down a tray with soup and a roll on Ramón's lap. He had been told why Ramón was ignoring him and why he was coughing up blood. Diederich had sobered up and was trying to help Ramón get better, sitting at the edge of his bed and looking at him.

"What do you have to feel sorry for?" Ramón asked, sounding rather surly to show his surprise for Diederich sounding remorseful. He also didn't understand why the man was insisting that he stay in bed when he was feeling all right despite the blood he'd been coughing up.

"My sister was like this... I-I think you might be sick..." He shivered a little in fear and nodded at the soup. "That'll help... She got through it, she's better, you're going to be fine..." In truth, it sounded as if Diederich was more worried about it than Ramón. ".. I'm just sorry it might be my fault..."

"'Might?' You could have told me you were a walking bag of fatal germs," Ramón snapped toward Diederich, slamming the tray on the bedside table to look at the man angrily. "I can't even afford cough medicine let alone the antibiotics for tuberculosis. Mierda...I'm going to fucking die because you kept your mouth shut about this." He couldn't help himself for being angry, but this was something he could have been told about earlier.

"I didn't realize... I'm sorry, Ramón!" Diederich was upset that it probably was entirely his fault. He gripped the bedsheets and frowned. "Y-you're not going to die. You'll be fine, I'll get the medicine..." Diederich folded his arms and looked pointedly at the soup. "Just... eat for now, it'll make you feel better."

He didn't want to go to the apothecary. He didn't want to look in his pocket and find this month's rent to use for the medicines but he didn't want Ramón to die. He bit his lip, wondering if Dimitri could help him get cheaper medicine or find more money somehow.

"...Your optimism had better be the only thing contagious for now," Ramón murmured coolly toward Diederich before picking up his soup bowl and reluctantly sipping it to at least make the man shut up and stop looking like he was about to cry. Making Diederich cry would end up making Ramón feel guilty and he hated feeling guilty more than anything.

Diederich sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not optimism... You're going to be fine, Ramón. I'll make sure." He rubbed one eye and wished he had some cheap wine with him... But he refused to get it. He didn't want to start getting drunk when things were going wrong again and he also didn't want to spend any money that could be used for medicine.

"If you're thirsty, there's a bottle of wine in the cellar. Pick whatever you like," Ramón said, somehow able to tell that Diederich was itching for something to drink. He was blinking a few times after finishing the soup, surprised that it was actually quite filling and felt good to drink.

Diederich sighed and shook his head. "Non, it's fine, I don't..." He tried to refuse then swore and stood. "... Which do you want?" He asked, feeling guilty for drinking so often as a solution to his problems.

"Some white wine would be good." It was nice and light, which meant Diederich wouldn't be drunk so easily and the red wine reminded Ramón too much of the blood he'd been coughing up lately. He quickly turned his head and coughed into the sleeve of his black shirt, the blood absorbed into the dark color except for the smear of it along his lower lip and chin.

Diederich frowned and moved back over to the bed. He leaned over Ramón and kissed him to wipe away the blood on his chin. He didn't care if he got sick - if he was going to get sick it was going to be from Ramón and no one else. He straightened silently and left to find the wine.

Diederich returned shortly with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He popped the cork and poured both glasses before handing one to Ramón.

"...You're shameless." Ramón couldn't help but smirk a little when Diederich handed him the wine. By now, he'd been used to those kisses of Diederich's and didn't bother to push him away since the man had already been exposed to the disease destroying Ramón's body. It was highly unlikely that Ramón would pass it onto Diederich at this point, but it didn't matter as he leaned over to briefly kiss the man's lips before heading back to his wine.

"I just love you." Diederich corrected with a smile before sipping his own wine. He felt a little guilty for drinking even now... Ramón was sick and it'd be hard to get the medicine and Diederich just wanted to drink until he forgot it all. He sighed and crawled onto the bed to sit next to Ramón, ignoring the possibility of getting sick. "I'm sorry." He said softly again, touching the side of his head to Ramón's shoulder.

"It can't be helped now." Ramón put his glass on the table and played a hand through Diederich's hair, placing a brief kiss on top of his head. "All we have to do is work with what we have." He smiled just a little and closed his eyes to rest in the bed with Diederich next to him.

********

Trucy exhaled and kept working on trying to shovel out land mines on the field. She tried avoiding the gaze of Kristoph Gavin, which seemed to be darker than ever, and he had been ready with his whip to punish anyone for the littlest thing. All she could do was keep working and pray with all her heart that the man could find no reason to punish her for anything.

Kristoph glared at the children working, hating his post. He didn't want to be watching the stupid kids, he wanted to find who made Liese pregnant... and then shoot him.

"Herr Gavin!" One of the officers trotted up to him, clutching papers in his hands. "Jeder verweigert, Geschlecht mit Liese zu haben." He reported. Kristoph swore and whipped the man violently.

"Fräulein Liese zu Ihnen und selbstverständlich würden sie es ableugnen!" He yelled, whipping the man again. "Fragen Sie sie ab, quälen Sie sie, erhalten Sie mir korrekte Antworten einfach!" He whipped the man a third time before he stumbled then sprinted away to retake the survey.

"Und fragen Sie die Hunde auch ab!" He yelled after the man, suspecting a few dogs in particular.

Kristoph looked at the children, a few of which had paused to stare at him, and started whipping them again. "Zurückgehen dar Arbeit!" He commanded angrily.

Trucy winced at the sight of the whippings, bending down to keep digging up more mines and trying her hardest to avoid anything that would set off Kristoph, but one of her nearest co-workers had found a land mine that hadn't been deactivated and a long bang echoed in Trucy's ears. She closed her eyes and felt a thick amount of blood splattering her gray outfit and face, hearing an agonizing scream coming from her co-worker that was now missing his hands and half his forearms. Out of natural fear, Trucy began to scream, half-sobbing for help to have that boy taken to sick bay as soon as possible.

Kristoph groaned at the noise and rubbed his temple before storming over to the horrified boy.

"Unbeholfen Idiot, was für ein Dreck!" He kicked the boy to his knees, "dick dumm Abschaum!" He drew his pistol and pointed it at the boy's forehead who was now sobbing and pleading, the pain in his arms ignored by the fear of death.

Kristoph turned a little and shot at the ground near Trucy and another screaming child. "Ruhe! Meine Gott meine Kopf...." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes, trying to massage away the headache.

"S...Sir, he needs a doctor. He...He's dying," Trucy tried to beg politely, looking toward the boy on the ground as he quietly sobbed in pain, his green eyes scanning back and forth between his ruined bloody stumps and his hands on the ground. "Please...take him to sick bay..." She shook her head a little, trying to hold back on vomiting at the sight of the boy's ruined arms.

Kristoph looked at Trucy and frowned. He pushed the sobbing boy away with his boot and walked towards Trucy, glaring down at her.

"Did I tell you to speak?" He asked, his voice deathly quiet. Before she could answer he slapped her with the butt of his pistol. He then kicked her down and flipped the gun around to point at her.

"You filthy slut, do you _want_ to die?" He spat on the girl and cocked the pistol.

"N...No..." Trucy whimpered and dug her dull nails into the dirt, scared for her life once again. She didn't care that she had been spat on, only that Kristoph was possibly going to kill her where she stood, and she closed her eyes and trembled badly from being at his mercy.

Kristoph was about to pull the trigger when the officer returned, sprinting over to him and bowing a little with his head. "Herr Gavin, ein… 'Hund' Verleumdung Ihren Familiennamen." He tried not to notice how Kristoph seemed in the middle of shooting a child.

"Scheiße... Namen?" Kristoph frowned angrily, upset that someone had such gut and he was being interrupted.

"Ach, Claus Sommers?" He glanced down at his papers.

Kristoph gave a hollow laugh. He had been mistaken - that boy's father was still alive.

He looked down at Trucy and snatched her up by her collar and brought his face close to her ear.

"Don't disobey me again." He hissed lowly before shoving her towards the ground and muttering for the officer to watch over this post while he went to deal with the prisoner.

Biting down on her lower lip, Trucy watched as the new officer began escorting the boy toward sick bay so that he could die away from the others. She had never been so scared before in her life...Kristoph could have done a lot worse than hit her with his gun...if that officer hadn't arrived, she could have...died. Trucy shook her head and carefully began working on removing those mines, trying to avoid looking at the hands and forearms of that boy as she worked.

********

Daryan had taken to shopping for groceries ever since Machi had the scare with the protesters. He was in the middle of picking out a few apples when he heard the familiar language of English spoken in an American accent. He turned to see two U.S. military talking about how funny the shape of a Geoduck is. How mature.

He still walked up to the pair and tapped one on the shoulder.

"Hey... I didn't know we had guys down here, was I on the right flight?" He frowned, wondering if he was supposed to be on duty.

"Huh...?" One of the soldiers glanced at Daryan, scratching his head in confusion as if he didn't recognize him. "I dunno..." The other one smacked his shoulder a little.

"You're Crescend, right? Nah, you're not supposed to be here," he said, maintaining a little professionalism in the situation. "You should be in London, man. Why are you in Borginia?"

"My flight fucked up or something... I dunno." He shrugged, "I didn't know anyone was going to Borginia, why are you two here?" He frowned, wondering if he hadn't been informed of something.

"The riots are getting out of control. The embassy decided to ask the US for some military help. But, yeah, you weren't supposed to be here. I'm real sorry about the mix-up, man. If you want, we can take you to the military base and get you on the first flight to London in the morning," the more professional soldier offered as his slightly dimmer companion muttered about wanting to get out himself.

Daryan smiled thankfully and nodded. "That'd be great, thanks..." He then shook his head and changed his mind. "Actually, could I leave at the end of the week? I have... some stuff to sort out here..." He glanced around then smiled again at the man.

"Sure. We'll see you on Saturday. Bright and early." Both soldiers saluted Daryan, then began heading back to work over at an upcoming riot that was beginning to get violent.

Daryan smiled and saluted them back before returning to the fruit stand and paying for the food. He returned home quickly, glad to tell Machi of the fortunate news.

Back at the little house, Machi had managed to fix up some of the damage that the protesters had caused to the outside the best he could when he saw Daryan arrive and look rather happy. The teenager's smile widened and he looked over at Daryan, pleased to see him in such a good mood.

"Something happening?" he asked.

Daryan scooped Machi up and hugged him tightly, still grinning.

"I ran into a pair of U.S. military guys... They'll have a plane to London for Saturday." Daryan kissed Machi's cheek and sighed happily, glad he didn't have to worry for their safety for too much longer.

"We going to leave soon?" Machi asked, his hands cupping Daryan's face as he smiled down at the man, this smile one of the widest ones he'd ever given to anyone. His glasses hid his eyes from view, but they were shining like Christmas had come early to the boy. For a long time, he'd thought there would be no escape from Borginia, but now...he would leave this country forever with the best friend he'd ever make.

Daryan nodded and smiled, hugging him tighter. "We can go home." He promised, extremely happy that he could leave this horrid place and live with Machi in peace.

Machi hugged onto Daryan tightly and looked at him when he said those words about going home. He just smiled and shook his head, letting his forehead rest on Daryan's since the man had decided to not wear any hair gel today.

"You being my home, Daryan," he said honestly as he looked down at the man from his position in Daryan's arms.

Daryan smiled and kissed Machi, "Thank you, Machi... Wherever you go is my home." He promised quietly. He kept the teen in his arms and stepped inside from the cold.

********

"...It's so warm," Yuri said, opening the window and feeling the sultry air hitting the living room. Seeing all the colors outside, though, made her feel a lot happier compared to when she had seen nothing but four walls, but she did wish it would be snowing soon. She had been sick the last winter and had missed it entirely, which made her sulky and reclusive toward her brothers until she got over it.

"Well, one of these days, you'll see the snow," Dimitri promised, placing a hand on Yuri's shoulder and looking outside with her. "I promise, Yuri, you'll get your own winter wonderland."

Diederich opened the door and yawned as he entered with a bottle of wine in his hand. He had stayed up all night to make sure Ramón was okay and not choking on his blood in his sleep. He had brought wine home with him to avoid getting drunk at the Spaniard's home.

"Morning." He mumbled before sitting down and uncorking the bottle.

"Good morning, Diederich," Yuri said, smiling at her brother kindly and noticed the bottle of wine in his hands. "Do you need a glass for that?" She decided to volunteer herself to get one for Diederich, trying to play the good little sister since she never did to spend much time with him even during her illness.

"How's he doing?" Dimitri asked Diederich, sitting down next to his younger brother. He noticed that the bottle was of a top shelf white wine rather than the cheap red wine, which showed a sign of slight improvement for his drinking problem. "I still can't believe _he_ got it...and _we_ didn't. We spent almost ten months with Yuri while she was at her sickest and we never even coughed, but Ramón spends two weeks with us and he's coughing up blood and already starting to deteriorate." The eldest sibling shook his head and sighed. "I guess this makes my decision easier."

Diederich shook his head and mumbled for Yuri not to bother. He uncorked the bottle and took a swig before glaring at Dimitri and kicking him weakly from his chair. "Don't fucking describe it." He murmured before taking another swig and groaning.

"What decision?" He frowned at his brother in confusion.

"This city's been ruined when I brought Yuri here. She's never been able to enjoy Paris because she got sick the moment we arrived and we spent almost a year trying to get her to recuperate and pull her out of the brinks of death. And now that Ramón, the one friend we make, is...either way, this city is only going to bring back terrible memories and...I bought three tickets to Moscow. The train leaves on Saturday." Dimitri pulled out three pieces of paper, holding them in his hand to show Diederich.

"Diederich, I got you your glass," Yuri said, handing over a drinking glass rather than a wine glass.

Diederich sighed softly and couldn't help a smile at how adorable his younger sister was. He stood and kissed her cheek. "Would you like some too? You shouldn't strain yourself..." He motioned for her to take a seat.

Upon hearing what Dimitri said he frowned at his brother.

"... Three tickets? T-to Moscow?" He repeated slowly. "... What about... Ramón...?" He asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, Diederich...but...we have to go back for Yuri's sake. She's better now and we don't want her to remember this place as the place she'd been sick in for almost a year. I don't know what we can do about Ramón. Maybe we can come back after the war is over and Yuri is fully independent, but he can't leave because of his illness." There was a law on the railroads that forbade anyone who had a life-threatening illness from traveling and risking passing on the illness to the other passengers.

"Wait...does that mean...Diederich, I won't be able to see the snow on top of the Eiffel Tower?" Yuri looked at both her brothers in sadness and confusion, remembering what Diederich had promised her.

Diederich's eyes glistened with wet for a moment and he rubbed it away. "... Of course." He nodded as if it was fine then looked at Yuri.

"Non, non ma chérie, you will see the snow, I promise... I... I said you will see snow and you will." He nodded definitely though he was entirely unsure if the weather would ever cool.

"Diederich..." Dimitri hated being the bad guy, especially when he saw Yuri's gray eyes fill with latent tears. "I'm sorry...but we have to do what's best for Yuri. And...as for Ramón...maybe it's best for him if we leave. He's sick because of our germs." Yuri then looked at Dimitri, trying not to cry.

"It was my fault, wasn't it? Did I get your friend sick? I didn't mean to, honest!" Yuri vowed, looking at Diederich and clutching his hands. "You shouldn't have to leave Ramón behind because I got him sick."

Diederich hugged her and kissed her cheek again. "Yuri, don't cry, it's okay, it's not your fault. I got him sick." He sighed and looked over at Dimitri to frown again. "It was an accident, Dimitri. What's best for him is if I take care of him..." He sighed and rested his head on Yuri's shoulder, still hugging her.

"... But it'll be fine. It's fine. We'll go..."

Yuri smiled and hugged onto Diederich, still feeling terrible for knowing that Diederich didn't feel happy, and kept hugging onto him to make sure that he wasn't sad. Dimitri just gave Diederich a sad smile and patted his brother's black hair, knowing that it had to be a hard choice for Diederich to make.

"If...you want to go see him, go ahead," he said, his usual teasing gone for now and replaced by the elder brother who wanted only the best for his younger brother and sister. That was the reason for going to Moscow in the first place: it wasn't just for Yuri, but for Diederich, too. He wanted his younger brother to try and be happy again despite Ramón not being there, to start anew without the disease holding them back. "By the way...it wasn't anyone's fault that Ramón got sick. That's just...the way things go sometimes."

Diederich sighed softly and shook his head. "No... I've been absent from my family." If not physically, mentally. "I'd like to spend some time with you." He left to the kitchen and brought back three wine glasses for them and a smile.

********

A messenger informed Kristoph that their side seemed to be losing the war. Everything was falling apart and Kristoph felt like the walls of his home were knocked down when he heard that Germany was being beaten.

He had to get out. He needed a plan, some way to make sure he didn't have to suffer like a fool in their prisons. He dug through the boxes and bottles in the sick bay, knowing there was some form of 'quiet death' he never bothered to use - ah, here it is.

Kristoph pulled out a small bottle of cyanide pills. Perfect. He shoved them in his pocket and walked back to his quarters, wondering if they would work properly.

A group of young children trotted by towards their working site, lead by one officer. Kristoph snatched the collar of one of the little boy's dirtied uniform and he yanked him away from the group. The boy was about to say something but Kristoph popped the lid, took one of the pills and shoved it into the little boy's mouth.

He squirmed but swallowed and shivered, afraid of Kristoph's constant stare. Within a minute, the boy shuddered and squeaked before falling limp. Kristoph dropped the corpse and smiled as he returned to his cabin. This would work perfectly.

Klavier approached Liese's cabin and knocked on the door. He stomped out his cigarette, not wanting to smoke near her if she was pregnant, and frowned nervously. How would she take to it? Would she tell him who it was? Did she even know? Shit... if she never... did someone rape her? Klavier worried over her as he waited for Liese, afraid he'd have to burn the entire camp just to find who hurt her.

"Klavier?" Liese opened the door, a towel wrapped around her body and another around her head, having just stepped out of the shower. "Was is los?" She opened the door a little more. "Come in, come in...it's cold outside." Klavier never came over to her cabin, which meant something had to be wrong.

Klavier stepped in and tried to smile. "Ich... Liese, I figured out what was wrong..." He decided to speak in English as it was a little easier for him to tell people problems in English.

"You..." He glanced down at a small box of tools in his hands nervously. This was so wrong...

"I wasn't aware there was anything wrong to begin with, Klavier...except for that incident with Kristoph's group," Liese said coolly, remembering that Kristoph had been assigned to the teenagers picking up land mines and one had detonated and taken off a boy's hands. Because Kristoph had been negligent in his duties for some unknown reason, the boy ended up dying of gangrene in sick bay. He was going to die anyway, but it had still been a terrible thing that made even the hardest soldiers wince.

Klavier made a noise and nodded. "Ja... that was... upsetting. One dead and one nearly traumatized." He grimaced, remembering being brought to the field to make sure Trucy was okay.

"But your stomach pains and vomiting... I know what caused it." He shook his head and looked at Liese.

"Oh?" The blonde began shaking the towel around her head to dry her hair a little before removing it, then headed into the bathroom to change quickly into her underwear and a shirt so that she wouldn't have to go around naked as she put on her pants. Liese did wonder what the cause was...probably just a little flu since she had been nauseous off and on all day.

Klavier nodded slowly. "You're pregnant." He sat down in one of the chairs and looked down at his little box of tools he brought so he could see how old and how healthy it was.

"P...Pregnant? Klavier, that's ridiculous..." Liese shook her head and laughed as if he were joking, but she saw the tools and the serious look on his face and frowned. She shook her head, remembering all the nausea, the two missing periods, and all the sex she had with Phoenix without even thinking about any form of birth control. "Y...You really think I'm...? Are there ways to check?" Now she felt worried, even distressed at this as she looked at her younger brother.

Klavier nodded sadly. "Ja, I can check, I'm pretty sure you are, but... Liese... do you know how it might've happened...?" He frowned, worried about who exactly made her pregnant.

"A toilet seat," she replied with a bit of dry sarcasm, then shook her head. "Nein, it was...the normal way. I'm a grown woman, Klavier, I'm capable of having sex." Liese sat down on the bed, lying down on it a little as she sighed, then went back to the bathroom to vomit quickly when she felt nauseous.

Klavier frowned and shivered a little when he heard her vomit. "Liese... I mean who do you think it might've been?" He asked, standing with a stethoscope to put on then wait for her to return.

"Does it matter? You're likely going to be an uncle, so start looking for a good baby shower gift. Just check and make sure your wild theories are correct," Liese said stiffly, heading back into the room and sitting down next to Klavier, nearly praying that it was wrong and that Klavier would leave her alone.

Klavier sighed, "Liese... I need to know... Please?" He wanted to know who did this to Liese... He wasn't sure what he'd do with the man but it wouldn't be congratulations.

He put a hand on the small of her back and the other hand held the end of the stethoscope he pressed gently against her stomach. He moved it around and frowned - young babies were hard to detect but he really wanted to try.

"Someone who loves me...and someone I love in return," Liese told him, not wanting to reveal the name to Klavier. "It doesn't matter. He's not going to be here for much longer anyway." She glanced at the calendar. Wednesday. In three days, she had to come up with a plan to get Phoenix and Trucy out of the camp to prevent Phoenix from being killed by the chemicals. Less than three days. Shit.

Tears were beginning to run down her eyes and she sponged at them with the heel of her hand.

Klavier glanced up at Liese as he gently moved his hand to try and find the heartbeat.

"Liese... is he an officer?" He tried to guess, wondering what she meant by 'not going to be here for much longer'. Dear Gott if it was one of the prisoners... He tried not to think about it and moved his hand again.

"The only officers that are relatively good-looking are us and Kristoph," Liese said, her Gavin-like narcissism coming naturally to her despite the situation at hand.

"Well," Klavier was about to agree when he looked up with a frown. "It's not... Meine Gott that's disgusting." He laughed lightly and shook his head, knowing Liese would never touch Kristoph.

"Just keep finding the baby, you perverted little ass," Liese said, trying not to laugh despite shuddering and gagging in disgust at the mere unspoken suggestion Klavier had said. "It doesn't matter who the father is if there's no baby."

Klavier laughed again and shifted his hand. His laughter ceased almost immediately when he heard a faint thumping.

"... Here." He shifted his hand a little again then nodded. "He's right here... or she... barely the size of a pinhead, but here..." He took the stethoscope off and touched Liese's stomach.

"My baby...is there?" she asked, touching her stomach briefly at the spot Klavier had pointed, her blue eyes widening slowly as she looked down at herself. "Mein Gott..." Liese felt like crying at this point, but quickly stood up and decided to leave the quarters and head over toward the excavation site and saw Phoenix working, feeling the tears coming back to her eyes.

Klavier watched Liese leave and frowned. "Liese...?" He sighed softly and left to the sick bay to put away his tools.

Phoenix looked up and noticed Liese walking up and he punched another man quickly. What was wrong? She looked like she was about to start crying.

The officer on duty yelled and hopped down from his chair to go break up the fight.

"I'll take care of this one," Liese said, pulling Phoenix over to the sheds and then looked at him. "There's...something I have to tell you..."

Phoenix kissed her and put his hands on her waist, their foreheads barely touching. "What is it?" He frowned a little in concern.

Liese simply took one of Phoenix's hands and placed it on the spot Klavier had pointed at a while ago, unable to control her emotions as she felt the tears running down her face.

"There's your baby," she said, her voice wavering softly.

Phoenix stared for a moment, almost not understanding, then kept his hand on her stomach and kissed Liese. It wasn't planned but it wasn't unwanted.

"... Our baby."

********

Daryan blinked sleepily and grinned, rolling over to poke Machi.

"Machi, wake up... c'mon, kid." He shoved the blond gently, impatiently begging for him to wake up. They had to leave for their flight and the few bags of possessions sat at the door, ready.

Machi rubbed at his eyes and groaned, glancing toward Daryan and about to ask why they had to be up so early, but then he remembered what today was. Saturday. They were going to leave Borgina today. He kissed Daryan's forehead quickly and sat up.

"Good morning," he said, a smile going to his face and his blue eyes lighting up gently.

"Morning." Daryan grinned and kissed Machi's cheek before sitting up and stretching. "You ready?" He was excited to leave this place with Machi.

"Yes." He stood up and dressed in his traditional lacy clothes before putting on his sunglasses and extending his hand toward Daryan. More than anything, Machi wanted to leave this horrible place. Yes, he had been born here, found in the alley in his mother's arms, nearly blue from lack of oxygen...this place had orphaned Machi, hurt him, forced him to be an adult at the tender age of fourteen. The only good thing was that he had found Daryan and was going to leave.

Daryan stood and got dressed in a simple shirt and pants and threw one of the jackets displaying his last name and badges to show his rank in the military. Not extremely high but not a boot-shiner either.

He lead Machi outside when they were both ready and he carried the bags out. The base wasn't too far from the building so they walked.

"I hear London's great, Machi. They've got really nice houses..." Daryan smiled, thinking about what they would do when they arrived.

"Hopefully, we getting warm house," Machi said with a laugh as he took Daryan's hand after taking his bag back to free that hand and they continued to walk. Just when they were a mile away from the base, there was a protest group rioting wildly outside one of the buildings. The teenager tensed and gripped tightly onto Daryan's hand, stopping as he saw the group and frowning deeply. "No..."

Daryan slowed his pace a little, frowning at the rowdy group, but then shook his head and kept walking, still holding Machi's hand. "Don't worry, it's fine... they'll stop." He murmured, squeezing Machi's hand reassuringly.

"...Okay." Machi smiled slowly and continued to walk, barely passing by the group when he felt a sharp yank to his free arm pull him backward, instinctively releasing his grip on the bag that he carried and he quickly grasped Daryan's hand tightly.

"*Hold it! You were the little bastard who made us stop our free expression!*" the man accused, yanking Machi back hard enough for the teenager to let go of Daryan's hand.

"*LET GO!*" Machi screamed, struggling against the man and even daring to bite him on the arm until a fist slammed into his face from one of the other protesters.

Daryan tried to pull Machi away but the group of protesters were stronger than the single man and they pulled Machi into the centre of the group to begin beating the poor boy, kicking and punching and biting, screaming obscenities.

Daryan tried to get rid of the large group of men but it was hard to get through the first three protesters but the dark-haired man continued to beat through the throng.

Machi screamed and sobbed as he kept getting attacked and pounded by the protesters, crying Daryan's name throughout this despite the soreness in his body from what were likely a handful of broken ribs. He heard the ripping of fabric from his clothes being wrecked and ruined, but he didn't care about that.

Hands slapped, punched, pinched, and pulled...feet kicked and stomped his vulnerable body...at some point, Machi lost his sunglasses and he could see bright sunlight from the sunrise streaming into his blue eyes. Even through the pain, he couldn't stop screaming that name:

"DARYAN!!"

Luckily, nearly half the protesters saw it was a lost cause and they ran like cowards, leaving the confident ones to Daryan's angry punches. He finally got through them all and dropped to his knees in exhaustion from fighting as best as he could. He saw Machi's glasses broken on the ground and he frowned in worry as he picked up the broken lenses.

"Machi...?"

The teenager was huddled on the ground, his clothes torn and blood beginning to pool below him. He didn't move a muscle and his face wasn't visible to Daryan, his entire body turned to the side and facing away from the older man. It was unsure if he had lived through the beating or succumbed to it.

The snow started to fall and made a beautiful contrast to the blood pooled on the ground. Daryan crawled forward and touched the boy's shoulder, almost afraid to find out what had happened.

"Machi, I'm sorry... Please be okay..." He prayed quietly, squeezing Machi's shoulder gently.

"...D-Daryan..." Machi couldn't turn his head, but he could hear the voice. Those broken ribs hurt so much that he couldn't even speak right or even turn the rest of his body...but he was alive despite his intense pain. Pain meant he was alive...even if his body was covered in bruises, bites, blood, and cuts.

Daryan felt his eyes swell up with tears and he carefully turned the boy over onto his back.

"Ar-are you okay?" He breathed, trying to wipe away the blood on his face.

"Yes." Machi smiled weakly toward Daryan, reaching up to sponge at a tear with his thumb. "No crying...I not dying yet...I still alive." He tried to laugh, but his ribs hurt too much to do that and he simply kept his smile, glad that his mouth had been spared in the beating. Bruises were already darkening around his clear eyes, which continued to sparkle despite his battered face and body.

Daryan tried to smile at that and nodded. "Y-yeah... fuck, Machi, I'm sorry..." He hugged the bloodied boy and heard a hummer roll up, having seen the fight, and wait for Daryan and Machi.

"You're fine... You'll be fine, I promise..." He kissed Machi's cheek and let out a broken sigh.

Machi smiled back at Daryan, unable to shake his head or nod at his apology, keeping himself close to Daryan until her wrapped his arms shakily around the older man's neck to pull him close. His eyes closed shut as he whispered in Daryan's ear:

"I love you, Daryan."

Daryan felt a tear roll down his cheek and he hugged him back tightly. "I-I love you too, Machi..." He whispered, burying his head into the crook of Machi's shoulder.

He finally picked Machi up and brought him over to the hummer to bring him into the base.

Finally, they could go home.

********

Diederich sighed softly and finished putting together their bags at the door. He didn't want to leave... he really didn't want to leave, but... They had to. And he hated it. He had tried buying medicines for Ramón but they were cheap black-market stuff he could barely afford.

"Ready?" He called out, his voice hoarse and his eyes red from crying. He felt a little peckish and wasn't sure why but he ignored it and waited by the bags at the door.

"Ready," Yuri said, bundled up in a coat since Dimitri had already gone ahead to flag a taxi and he told Yuri to wear something warm. For the first time in a long time, it was actually cold and gray and the young woman prayed that it was actually going to snow. Maybe it wouldn't be too late to see a snow-covered Paris after all. She looked at Diederich and saw that he had been crying, wiping a stray tear with her mitten. "I'm sorry, Diederich. I know you miss him."

Diederich turned his head away and sighed quietly, shaking his head a little. "It's fine. Don't worry." He put on a smile and kissed Yuri's cheek. "Don't apologize. Hey, maybe it's snowed." He suggested, pulling on his jacket. He picked up the bags and opened the door, holding it for Yuri first.

Yuri walked out the door eagerly, hoping for even a few flakes of snow but found none and frowned softly before heading into the taxi where Dimitri had already resided. The eldest sibling saw Diederich's red-rimmed eyes and the disappointment in Yuri's expression, but merely shook his head and told the driver to head for the train station.

Diederich remained silent throughout the ride and kept his eyes out the window during the ride. When they arrived Diederich stepped out and pulled out the bags from the trunk. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wishing he had brought some cheap wine with him.

"...Are you looking for this?" a tenor voice with a foreign accent asked, holding a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine in his hand, which he showed to Diederich. When the man turned his head, Ramón barely smiled at him, but it was still there. He was so much paler than he'd ever been before and he looked thinner, but he was there and ready to see Diederich off.

"Monsieur Mendez, I'm glad that you came," Yuri said, smiling toward him briefly before going off to join Dimitri in getting the tickets checked.

"You called me, chiquita," Ramón replied simply with a mild shrug toward the girl as she left.

Diederich's eyes lit up and he rubbed at them again before hugging Ramón and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Ramón..." he murmured, feeling like he was about to cry again. "I- th-thank you for coming... I missed you..." He kissed him again and sighed sadly into the man's shoulder.

"...I missed you, too," Ramón admitted, deciding to push the bottles of wine into Diederich's bag to be able to hug the Frenchman properly, patting the back of his head and inhaling the flowery scent of shampoo. "I can't stay long, though. Your train leaves in ten minutes and this weather is hell." Honestly, he wasn't even supposed to be outside when the temperature was so low, but he risked it and did it anyway to at least say good-bye to Diederich.

Diederich kissed Ramón's cheek and sniffed, feeling a tickle in his throat and a tear in his eye. "Y-you need to come to Moscow once you're better." He suggested, a sort of happy sadness filling his heart. He didn't want to say good-bye for so long or possibly for the last time. He wanted Ramón to come with them but... those damned rules...

Diederich pressed his lips against Ramón's, "I love you, Ramón..." He murmured through a deep kiss with a few tears running down his cheeks.

"Diederich, the train is leaving in five minutes!" Dimitri warned, yelling toward his brother, which gave Ramón very little time to pull the man close, stroking his hair and kissing gently, not saying anything until they went to the train. That was when Ramón gave Diederich a searing kiss and smiled the most that he had ever done so toward anyone, his dark eyes still holding a heavy sadness to them.

"Te amo, Diederich," he said, knowing that he would understand what he meant from the way he held Diederich tight. "I'll see you in Moscow one day." The train let out a warning whistle and Dimitri shook his head a little before going over to them, kissing Ramón on the temple.

"Get better, Ramón," he said before taking Diederich and Yuri into the train.

Diederich's eyes were wet with tears but he rubbed them away as he hugged Ramón for the last time, nodding and murmuring that everything would be wonderful in Moscow. He let Dimitri lead him and Yuri onto the train and he sat down in their car, taking one of the seats next to the window to look out and try to see his friend and lover.

He sighed and rubbed the tears away as the train began to move.

As the train pulled out of sight, Ramón shivered a little as he felt the wind get colder, blowing some snow into his hair. Shit. Too cold to be out here, but he had to make sure the train left Paris safely. He watched the long train move east, away from the city until it disappeared from sight. The snow was beginning to come far too quickly for some reason and Ramón went to his knees, feeling a coughing fit begin as he nearly gagged into his hands. Ramón looked at the blood, feeling dazed as he stared down at it until it became too much, his head spinning from the intensity of the coughs.

_When did I get so soft? I blame you, Diederich...stupid, lovable whore...gonna miss you until I get to Moscow..._

He exhaled a little and felt his body buckling until he passed out at the station's dock, the snow caressing his dark hair and ruffling it softly.

"Look!" Yuri looked out the window and smiled when she saw the snow beginning to fall, covering Paris in a thin blanket. "It's snowing...it finally snowed..." She was ecstatic to finally see the beautiful city covered in snow, especially on her last day seeing it. Maybe it wasn't the Eiffel Tower view she wanted, but it was still beautiful.

Diederich looked up at the snow and smiled weakly. He rubbed away his tears again and felt that tickle in his chest that had been bothering him for a short while now. He coughed into his hand and glanced at it, noticing the too-familiar sputum in his hand. He swallowed thickly and found a handkerchief to wipe it off his hand and keep the cough confined as he looked out the window at the snow.

"You okay, Diederich?" Dimitri asked, glancing toward his younger twin, who quickly nodded as he looked out the window, then smiled at his siblings.

"Ouais," he said. He wouldn't tell them now...they weren't ready yet...

********

Liese was up over an hour before the bugle, trying to prepare to orchestrate her plan to get Phoenix and Trucy safely out of the camp. It didn't matter if she got out since she was in no danger at the present time, but Phoenix...if she didn't get him and Trucy out of here, he would be dead before lunch. She got up, holding down her nausea, and began heading for the eastern barracks where Phoenix slept, knowing the place by heart at this point.

Phoenix was barely able to sleep the night before, extremely worried for his and Trucy's safety... and now Liese and their unborn child. He heard the door open and he got to Liese quickly, hugging her and kissing her almost desperately.

"Liese, I love you, it's going to be fine..." He had stayed up trying to think of a plan and found nothing, deciding to instead rehearse an 'it's okay' speech for her.

"Go to the sick bay," Liese hissed, placing a hand on the back of Phoenix's spiky head to kiss him briefly. "Cut through the barracks here and then pass through the cabins. There aren't any guards in that area. I'll be there in a hour with a surprise." She smiled at him, placing a kiss on his cheek as her smile strained. "It's...all going to work out...some way."

Phoenix stared for a moment, almost unable to believe she planned it all out so well. He kissed her again and sighed, hugging her close for a moment.

"Damnit, I love you... Be careful." He kissed her once more before reluctantly pulling away from her and slipping out the door.

Phoenix carefully made his way to the sick bay, finding Liese was right about no guards in the area. He opened the door to the sick bay and closed it behind him, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't know dogs were allowed off their leash at this time." Kristoph crossed his arms and frowned at the prisoner.

Phoenix moved to open the door and get out but Kristoph cocked his pistol and pointed it lazily at Phoenix. "Don't move, dog." He hissed, watching the prisoner slowly let go of the door and turn to face him.

"I have a name."

"I'm sure you do."

"I'm not a dog."

"You're lower. But let's not get technical." Kristoph stepped forward until the barrel of the gun was pressing against Phoenix's chest.

Before Kristoph could continue with how low Phoenix was, the dark-haired man grabbed Kristoph's gun and twisted, moving behind him to wrench the gun from Kristoph's hand and press it against the blond's head.

"Don't get in my way." He growled, not about to let Kristoph destroy his life any more.

"T-tch." Kristoph attempted to pull away but Phoenix just held him still, much stronger thanks to the work.

Phoenix shoved Kristoph away and kept his gun, pointing at the blond.

"Get out... don't come near me..." He watched Kristoph growl and reluctantly back away until he left the sick bay.

Phoenix ran a hand through his hair and groaned, uncocking the gun and dropping it to the ground.

Trucy blinked her eyes, wondering why she was being awakened when it was so dark outside. It wasn't time for the bugle to go off yet, which made her look at the blonde in surprise.

"Is it time to work?" she asked in confusion, but the woman shook her head.

"Nein. It's time to go," Liese said, lifting Trucy up by her arm to yank her toward the sick bay, but the girl began to struggle.

"No! I...I don't want to die...please...!" she begged the woman that had saved her life once before, but Liese just shook her head and kept walking toward the sick bay, noticing Kristoph walking past, too focused on cursing under his breath to notice the two of them.

Phoenix heard the door open and looked up, about to reach for the dropped gun in fear of Kristoph returning but he saw Trucy and ran up to hug her. He lifted her off the ground and held her tight, thanking God she was alive and well. He looked at Liese and smiled thankfully.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Trucy sobbed, having not seen her father even once since they had arrived in the camp almost three months ago. He looked so strong while she had lost weight and been beaten by Kristoph, but seeing him now...it didn't matter...she just wrapped her arms around Phoenix's neck and sobbed happily. Liese watched them with a soft smile on her face, wiping at a stray tear that ran down one of her cheeks.

"Trucy... Trucy are you okay?" Phoenix kissed her cheek and set her down, kneeling himself, to make sure she was all right. A few signs of beatings from Kristoph - he wondered if any other officer even thought about whipping the children - and a little malnourished but still alive and well enough. He kissed her forehead and hugged her again, looking up at Liese.

"... Trucy... sweetheart..." He turned his head again to smile at his daughter. "You're going to be a big sister."

"A...A big sister...?" Trucy looked toward Liese and noticed the way Phoenix was looking at her. "You and Daddy...?" Liese just nodded a little, her smile hard to hide as Trucy placed a hand on Liese's stomach, the teenage girl smiling. "Hey...I can feel it." She laughed and kept moving her hand around. "My baby brother's in there, isn't he?"

Phoenix smiled and nodded. "Yeah..." He smiled and kissed Trucy's forehead again before standing and wrapping an arm around Liese's waist and pulling her close for a kiss.

"Scheiße, Liese...." Klavier stared from the doorway, having come in early to check on one of the prisoners currently sleeping with a broken arm and leg.

"Was... _Ihn_!?" He wasn't sure whether to be upset or happy or disgusted as he remained still near the hospital bed.

"Klavier..." Liese looked at her younger brother and the stunned expression on his face, unsure of what to really say to him, but to confirm what he had seen and nodded. "Ja...it's him." She hadn't anticipated this, but she decided to keep being truthful about this. "You can't let Phoenix die...if you do, Trucy will be an orphan and my baby, _your nephew_, won't have a father." The blonde moved between Phoenix and Trucy, taking both their hands. "They're my family, Klavier...I love them as much as I love you and Kristoph..."

Klavier grimaced a little and looked down, considering this.

"But... Liese... they're _dogs_..." He said slowly, feeling a little odd for having two of them staring right at him as he said it. "It just isn't right..."

Phoenix frowned and held Liese and Trucy a little closer, unsure if Klavier would end up trying to kill them like his insane brother.

"They're people like you and me, Klavier...mein Gott, you sound like Kristoph. You're the one who wants to be a doctor and you took care of patients that were claimed as 'dogs,' but if I begin to love them, you see them as dogs. Why are you doing this? Just...let them get out of here," Liese said, whispering the last sentence. "Before Kristoph shows up...let them live...get them out of here..." She hated being weak like this, but she had a baby to think of that needed its father to be alive...the baby was her highest priority.

"Liese, they're..." he sighed, realizing that there really wasn't much difference. "I'm sorry... Kristoph is persuasive..." He murmured, a little upset that he was even speaking like his brother now.

"But he'll kill me if he finds out they escaped... He'd kill you too." He frowned at Liese, "Please, I want to help but... I can't with this... it's-"

"Disgusting." Kristoph leaned in the doorway opposite Klavier, trapping the family between the Gavin men. "Liese, please don't tell me you feel sympathy for such rats." He gave his sister a commanding look and glared at Phoenix and Trucy.

"I don't feel sorry for them, Kristoph," Liese said coolly toward Kristoph. "I love Phoenix...and Trucy...and I love our baby. They're the most important people in my life...and I'll be damned if I let anyone try and take them away from me, especially if it's you!" She glared at Kristoph heatedly, tightening her hands into fists.

Phoenix shifted and held Liese and Trucy behind him, not allowing Kristoph to hurt any of his family any more.

Kristoph glared back at her and his left eye twitched a little. "I don't believe I heard you... Did you imply your child belongs to that rat?" He had upgraded the insults to a worse rodent and Kristoph was disgusted at the very thought of Liese doing such things with a pile of dirt like that.

"Kristoph, stop-" Klavier stepped forward but his brother drew a new pistol and pointed it at the blond man, making him step back again quietly.

"Don't even think about it." Liese pulled out her own pistol and aimed it at Kristoph, cocking it toward her older brother and aiming it precisely at his collarbone since she knew it was one of his weaker spots. Trucy whimpered at the thought of Liese or Klavier being killed and buried her face in Phoenix's gray shirt.

Kristoph smirked and shifted his arm so it pointed right back at Liese. "Sie würden Ihre eigene Bruder schießen?" He asked mockingly, focusing more on the spot where his barrel was pointed at than his sister.

Phoenix held Trucy close and touched Liese's shoulder in worry as Kristoph's smile was rather unnerving.

"D...Daddy...Mommy..." Trucy shivered between Liese and Phoenix, wishing that she could wake up from this horrible dream and be back in her own bed in her own house.

"Ich war nicht bewusst, dass ich einen Bruder hatte, um zu schießen," Liese said, her tone just as mocking and her smirk just as cold as she tossed aside her hat, sunglasses, and the Swastika bands around her arms as well as her jacket despite the snow falling down. "I don't want to be in this war anymore...and I don't want to be a Gavin if it means having to give up on the war." She began heading toward the main gate with Phoenix and Trucy, deactivating the electric current going through the fence.

Phoenix followed quickly, trying to stay in the line of fire for Liese and Trucy, not wanting either of them hurt. Once they passed the gate he sighed in relief and wrapped an arm around Trucy and Liese thankfully.

Kristoph growled and tossed his pistol to Klavier as his hands went frantically to his pockets, trying to find the cyanide pills. His easy way out.

"Scheißen, Klavier." He ordered as the younger hesitantly caught the gun.

"Bruder... Nein-"

"Scheißen, Verdammt!" Kristoph shouted, popping the lid and pouring the entire amount of pills into his hand.

"Bruder, anhalten-!" Klavier tried to move away but Kristoph was quick and caught his brother by the arm.

"Scheißen-" He tried to force Klavier's arms up in order to shoot and half the pills spilled onto the snow. There was a gunshot, but Klavier's focus was only on his suicidal brother, unable to do anything as he watched Kristoph emptying the pills still in his hand into his mouth.

"Mein Gott, Kristoph...!?" Klavier frowned as the man slowly sunk to his knees and mumbled nonsense.

"Ich gewinnen." He mumbled slowly as Klavier's arms wrapped around him and pulled his older brother's cold body close to his warmer one.

"Ich gewinnen..."

"Nnn..." Liese was on her knees, holding onto her arm as she felt the blood pouring down from the gunshot in her left bicep. There wasn't any blood anywhere else, meaning that the baby was still alive...good, it wasn't dead yet...

"Mommy..." Trucy tore her gray top to expose her battered midriff and wrapped Liese's arm to try and stop the bleeding, thankful that the bullet wasn't too deep, but the middle Gavin sibling went back in to see Klavier and Kristoph. She saw Kristoph in Klavier's arms with his glasses discarded and his hair loosened from its atypical spiral, the perfectionist now in disarray.

Klavier looked up, his eyes furious and a little confused. "Verlassen, Liese!" He yelled at the approaching woman. "Verlassen! Sie töteten Kristoph und Sie sind verliebt mit einem _Hund_…" Klavier held Kristoph closer to his chest, the elder's body as cold as the snow falling. "Sie zerstörten diese Familie..." He started to shake from silent tears and he simply looked down at his brother's face and hugged him close.

All Liese could do was stare at her brother with sympathy, unsure of what to really say to him. He sounded so angry, as if the hatred Kristoph had for everything imperfect and out of order had already passed down to Klavier, and she knew it was time to leave him behind, placing her good hand on Klavier's cheek to kiss him on the forehead and put Kristoph's glasses in his pocket.

"Es tut mir leid für dass...aber diese Familie bereits zerstört wurde. Auf Wiedersehen, Klavier." She said no more than that and headed out of the gate where Phoenix and Trucy waited for her.

Klavier watched the last link to the Gavin line other than himself be joined by Phoenix and Trucy as they supported the wounded woman, Phoenix's arm around her waist and Trucy holding her good hand. He felt a mixture of jealousy and pride as they walked away toward the gate, then noticed Trucy's head turn as she smiled toward Klavier and waved a little.

"Good-bye, Uncle Klavier," she said, turning ahead and walking out of the gate. Klavier exhaled, feeling the tears running down his cheeks as he held Kristoph's rigid body, then noticed all of the other prisoners of the camps and the guards coming out of the various cabins, sheds, and barracks. He looked toward the family leaving, shielding his eyes as the sun rose, then lifted his head up and let the snow hit his face and join his tears, a bare hint of a smile going over his full lips.

"It's over..." Klavier whispered through his sobs, letting Kristoph's head rest on his chest as he stroked the cold cheek with his tan fingers. "It's finally over..."


End file.
